PERFECT

17 days into the New Year and shall I make any resolutions?

We had snow and we had storms and we had rain. So this morning's weather was pretty good in comparison. The best thing to do when the weather is fine according to my trusty brain is to get out and see green.

Green as in fields that are so green they never disappoint. The best view of course is from the passenger seat, with the faithful gentleman love-of-my-life on the wheel, and my favourite songs in the background. Miles and Miles of green. Feeling very safe and loved.

 My thoughts drifted.

Dreaming of dragons and kings just like Neil Diamond did in Brooklyn Road, every time I passed an abandoned castle, I wondered….

Did they dance in the grand hall with a blazing fire and dined on pheasants brought in from the wild by the gamekeeper? How did the ladies in their long dresses negotiate the very narrow winding staircase? The pomp and the gains. Perhaps they thought that would be eternal, but now is only in ruins.

 I looked into popular cafes. Where people entered to be seen rather than to eat. I can’t help agreeing with Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:14. ‘ I have seen all the works that are done under the sun and behold all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.’ And yet we do that over and over again. Every generation. Any age group. Many wants. They are all too tempting.

 Looking at the road signs and shop names in English – my brain went into auto mode and was busy translating them into the little Irish that I have learnt. Once a student, always a student. My kind of fun.

 We were on the way to an open market that only happens once a week only to find that we had got the day wrong and there wasn't a stall to be seen. What next? Like the ITV Lingo host Adil Ray who always says 'Never mind’ we paused and told ourselves, never mind. No disappointment, only opportunity. So we went to search for a megalithic wedge tomb instead. It helps to have a wide spectrum of interests. Archaeology being one.

I hear that the alligator can live to 100 years.

I think I could live for a 100 years and more.

Just like the alligator. Sometimes snappy. Most times happy.

Enjoying the people I am with. Loving my surroundings. Loving me.

17 days into the New Year and shall I make any resolutions?

No I won't.

Pure content.

Perfect.