That was the Year that was..... !!! Goodbye 2015

2015 - Yes indeed - that was the year that was!!

2015 I will not forget in a hurry. It was a year of polarities, of huge optimism and occasional despair.

I started 2015 with a surge of hope, retirement just around the corner. Jan and I plotted that future, this best illustrated by us acquiring a very nice and very expensive motor-home. It was in this that we were drive into the future, adventures on the road.

My long employment as a Nurse and Teacher drew to an end, and there were many "lasts". The final meetings, lessons, conferences, marking. And in April the day came - and I retired, not without a deal of reflection.

And then the world turned - my partner,wife Janet of some 35 years was to fall ill. She had been experiencing some nasty episodes of back pain. Our first real adventure in our new mobile home had us travelling to Yorkshire for a music festival. And then her back gave way! There was a terrible night of terrible pain. Home to Swansea - and admission to Hospital with a badly slipped disk. Jan was in Hospital for a week and spent the next 3 months on high doses of Opiates and other medications, and only able to mobilise with the use of a wheelchair. Despite this she was stoical and determined and I was delighted to note that by December that not only was she walking freely but she drove a car for the first time in six months.

And then there was my Mother in Law - an ageing 88 year old with dementia. In April she falls at home and is admitted to hospital. And then another fall results in a hip replacement. Months of hospital care and eventually she is in a EMI Nursing Home. The family have travelled this road - it has been a difficult one. The final outcome is, at this time, the best we could have expected. Sylvia is receiving the care she needs.

And then there was Sam and Izaak. Sam - my 28 year old son and father to one of my glorious grandsons Izaak, moved back to the family home. Izaak would be spending about 3 nights a week with us. A two year old with attitude this was both a delight as well as a challenge.

We lost an old dear friend - Chris passed in tragic circumstance. We travelled to his funeral in Edinburgh, travelling in our Mobile Home and stopping en route both there and back.

There have been some personal achievements - I saw two books published, I engaged as a patient user, and undertook work for the RCN and Welsh Government.

Yes 2015 has been a very busy and occasionally tough year.

As for the Future ???

Well that bit is easy - JANET, my Children and their partners, My Grandchildren - My Family.....................................