Pat - Blast From The Past!

It was fantastic to see an old friend last weekend, someone I haven't seen personally for over seventeen years and someone who was close to my family for a long time. Pat 'nearly' accepted a job working for me in 2002, at a business I was running in a small village on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border and we soon became close friends!

I introduced Pat to my Aunt and her family after a night out in Portsmouth and they all got on like a house on fire, laying the foundation for a long and fruitful association that would last the test of time.

Like most things in life, circumstances change and peoples lives head in very different directions, consequently My Aunt and Pat lost contact and followed very different roads until recently, when their lives crossed paths once again! Pat spent the weekend with us, rekindling a bond that should never have been broken. It was wonderful to see her after so long, we had so much to catch up on. Ultimately however, it was my Aunt who was happiest to see a lady who used to be an pivotal part of her life and I was delighted to see her so contented, after spending such a long time apart!

I have also lost touch with many people over the years, sometimes by choice and on occasion through accident. As I grow older, I am finding it more and more important to cherish friendships. I have many regrets about the loss of those I once held in high regard and in time, I may also rekindle relationships that fell by the wayside, when the time is right of course.

Today I have started the process of re-establishing broken connections, links to individuals I never expected to see again, but with the wonder of social media, old friends and colleagues, long lost family and school mates have all become a part of my life once more. We do live in an age, where we don't instantly lose contact with people, when we leave an educational establishment or place of work and the attachments we have formed stay with us much longer, than they would otherwise have done in the past; that makes me happy. It is crucial to stay contiguous, with like minded individuals. I find socialising stimulating and a beneficial aspect life. Interacting with people is essential for my well-being and I value their relevance; always listening, always debating and always expressing how I feel. There is good in everyone and we should never disregard friendships like disposable pieces of junk.

Pat is a reminder of all the people I have lost in life and she has been instrumental in changing the way I think. Together with the loss of my Mother, I believe it is important to now focus on rebuilding the links I have lost and forgive and forget the difficulties of the past; after all how else will any of us move on!