I'VE STARTED...

...and maybe I’ll finish and maybe I won’t!  

I felt yesterday that I needed to address the decluttering I was determined to do last year, and the year before and you all know how that feels - well some of you do.  Some are much more focused and manage to do it.  However, when I looked into the blue box, which had been sitting in one of our spare bedrooms for sometime, there were so many cards.  Some went back to my 60th birthday - and I was 79 last Boxing Day - together with cards from various people for our Ruby Wedding Anniversary cards and we had our Golden Wedding 7 years ago!  There were also other cards from people going back to 1996, after our younger son’s accident when we were going through a very difficult time.  Of course, they all had to be read before being put into the paper waste and that takes time - and a huge amount of emotion!  

By the time the wicker basket was full to overflowing, I was in tears and decided I couldn’t do anymore - well not yesterday anyway.  So I shut the door and went into my Quiet Room and decided that I needed to cry some more, which I did.  

All this time, Mr. HCB was downstairs, and didn’t know about my tears, but I did tell him later, so this morning, as I was going out to meet a friend for coffee, I didn’t do any more.  This evening I have a Pastoral Care Team meeting, so it won’t be done this evening either...but it will get done and I am not going to get uptight about when!  However, I was reminded of the quote which says, "He or she who can read never clears out an attic"!  So very true.  

There were lots of photographs too - and the lovely man at the top right was a friend’s father who I used to visit when he lived with his daughter, but when they went on holiday and he was in a nursing home, I used to go and sit with him, sing hymns with him and pray with him - so that was a special photograph to find.  

Then last night, whilst listening to the Holocaust Commemoration on BBC1 at 7 o’clock, which was extremely poignant, who should read towards the end, but this very lady’s granddaughter!  So, as soon as the programme had finished, I rang my friend and we had a lovely chat.  Made my day - and we have arranged to meet for a catch-up soon.  She is in her 90s and I value her friendship.  

I am putting an extra shot in - of a young lady who sang towards the end of the programme - her name is Hafsa Jalisi and she sang “Nemoj Dalit Suzama” a Bosian song, which translated into English is “Don’t Grieve With Tears”.   She sang beautifully, but what impressed me was the “heart shape” on her neck - a trick of the light, as it was a shadow of the two microphones in front of her, but I liked to think that it was a reminder of all those in so many conflicts who deserve our love and thanks for all they endured.  You can watch and listen from 35.02 on this recording on BBC iPlayer although some of you in other countries may not be able to access this.