Happy New Decade
I previously mentioned that Colin and I had been too ill to celebrate last “New Year” so we met up with John and Anisa, and the gang to celebrate at “The Golden Sun” for a Chinese party. I was definitely in a positive mood to start the next new decade.
Started as We Meant to Carry On
The party was really good fun sharing with John, Anisa and our group as we began to celebrate the new decade. The place had a good atmosphere. We all enjoyed the banquet of delicious Chinese dishes, danced to live music and watched fireworks outside from the terrace. Everyone was friendly and in good spirits. I tried to dance with some girlfriends with my new peculiar style. I really didn’t care if I looked a bit odd. Colin and I just had to seal “Midnight” with a kiss.
New Years Day
As one of the Dog House regulars, we went on “New Year’s Day” to meet up with friends, have fun and ate their usual offering of “Hangover” ham and eggs. It was a fun and lovely day out to clear away any cobwebs of the previous night. Jayne joined our table so we had a lovely gathering until early evening!
Day of “Three Kings” – Monday 6th January
Day of the “Three Kings” Parade: This is always a big celebration over here in Spain ( please click on here for more details). Colin and I went to Cancelada Village to view the mini parade with Oscar. We sat on the side terrace/pavement area of a cafeteria in the main street. We watched families gather along the side of the street. The trucks with floats were loaded with sweets and goodies. As they passed by, they threw the goodies to the crowd and waiting kids. It was a lovely atmosphere and such a giggle to see that some kids came well prepared with big shopping bags to collect the sweets and goodies. It was good fun as we chatted and laughed with other spectators. Colin and I were relieved and even more surprised that Oscar had behaved pretty well (for a change) and seemed to enjoy all the activity. I was really sorry that I hadn’t taken any photos but the attached image revealed how they celebrate in Malaga.
Saturday 11th January
My 1st Year Anniversary: I thought of how all the memories of my awful attack last year had been replaced by more positive and new memories of “Celebration”. I was thankful how the medical staff had saved my life, the constant loving care from my wonderful Colin and the support, encouragement, friendship and laughs from my family and dear friends. I could have given up, but they all had spurred me onto improve.
Celebration Dinner: Wow, I couldn´t believe it had been 12 months! Since I had come so far, it was cause to celebrate. Colin and I decided to celebrate at Chilli Restaurant for an intimate dinner with John and Anisa, Christian, Matt and Andrea. Since my energy level was limited this year, we decided next years party should be with more friends.
I still had to hold onto Colin’s arm at times for support to walk but I was able to visit the restaurant W.C. on my own. Colin had become my emotional crutch whenever I lost confidence to walk for too long, time I tried by myself in public. I knew that I had to stop that habit if I wanted to become totally independent. However, I decided to be safer than sorry on my special night so I still had to hold onto Colin.
We had lovely Indian cuisine, Matt and Andrea naughtily paid for our meal in secret. John and Anisa surprised me with a personlised T-shirt with my blog name on it. I was so touched …..
Monday 13th January
Social Security Medical Check: We had to drive off to the Malaga Social Security Office to prove that my condition was still valid. I was especially nervous when I realized that I had to be interviewed alone in Spanish. When Colin and I entered the interview room, the white coated interviewer ushered Colin out of the room and told me in Spanish, “you are in Spain so you speak in Spanish”. He wasn’t particularly friendly in his demeanour. I instantly felt self conscious and doubted that my Spanish was good enough to answer his questions. I don’t think he smiled once even though I tried to be open and friendly. That had been a very scary experience! When it was over I was informed that I had another medical appointment in a few weeks with the “Malaga Department of Labour”. What part of I’m still in recovery hadn’t they understood?? I was so traumatised and upset, I burst into tears in the car. Anyway, we thanked our friend and colleague, James, for again driving and patiently waited for us during my horrid ordeal.
Friday 17th January
Valid but not Invalid: After the trauma of the previous interview, I was pleased to swiftly receive my results by phone text. I had been worried for days because I hadn’t been too sure if I answered the questions correctly. I felt that the interviewer hadn’t been sympathetic to my condition, so I convinced myself that I failed. It wasn’t that I lied in any of my answers, the interview conditions were less than friendly and would have made anyone nervous! This day I was surprised to find that I had passed and that my disability status was extended until my next appointment in mid May. I felt such relief because I seriously thought that I made a mess of it all. Just goes to show you that I shouldn’t have assumed failure and should have had more faith in the system. I was too nervous to have even considered that! Hindsight is a wonderful thing ………..
Monday 20th January
Lesson in Patience: It’s been difficult to have patience with our dog, Oscar. He chewed through our internet cable in the garden twice. Each time, we had to wait a few days to have the internet reconnected. Needless to say this caused problems with contact for business purposes. Oscar then ran of with our satellite remote control and chewed that to bits. This meant that we were stuck watching only one channel for 3 days. My patience had been severely tested but whenever he looked toward us or relaxed on the sofa, “butter wouldn’t melt” …… Honestly, we’ve been too soft on our dog.
Helping Around the House: I wanted to show Colin that I was more capable of just feeding the cats, rinsing crockery and cutlery, loading and unloading the dishwasher. I really needed to prove that I could do more things around the house. One of the first tasks Colin set for me was to sweep a room. Afraid that ended in disaster. I held the dustpan weakly with my bad left hand, while I tried to sweep the dirt with the broom with my good right hand. It wasn’t a great success because I made more of a mess than I swept into the dustpan!
My other task was trying to wash the clothes. I managed to load the washing machine alright but unloading it proved to be more difficult. The constant bending over put a strain on my back and legs because of putting the clothes out to dry on hangers or on furniture – this ended in a “comedy of errors”. My bad hand just fumbled clumsily with everything. It aggravated me that I wasn’t able to perform such simple chores. Nonetheless, though it took me ages, I eventually completed the job.
Monday 27th January
First “Naughty Girls” Get Together of 2020: It was really nice when I met up with some of my lovely ladies after they finished their round of golf. We had our usual refreshments, “nibbles”, caught up and giggled throughout the afternoon. They are a fun crowd and I always looked forward to meeting up with them.
Disturbing Corona Virus News: The Covid 19 – Corona Virus, turned out to be an acute respiratory syndrome. Seemed to have spread from a place in Wuhan, China, throughout the country. The scary thing in the media was this virus could extend toward Europe and the rest of the world, if not contained. We will have to wait to see what will happen …..
Please view next page 28 at link “Sexy 60’s, Dancing, Cooking & Virus!”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/28-sexy-sixties-my-birthday-time-for-reflection-better-dancing-more-cooking-start-of-corona-virus-in-europe/
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Well you needlessly worried about being interviewed in Spanish and passed with flying colors. You have improved over the past year but still show outward physical problems with using your left leg, arm and hand. It will take time, but that too will pass and your recovery will then be complete. Being able to go out and be with friends socially is a great accomplishment and I’m sure you feel it deep down in your heart. Now, you will have to accept that cook, cleaning and other house chores is something you have to adjust to, but it will come to you as time passes, this is where your patience comes in. Your positive attitude now is your greatest asset, don’t lose it!
Aaaaaw – Many thanks. It certainly has been quite a year. I couldn’t believe that I had made it so far. You’re right, I will have to be patient, which I had found difficult in the past 🙂 but I’ve been learning. Now for a more positive new decade ahead. Hope you are well – love LINDA xxx