Have a little patience

There were a couple of scary drives to work because of the weather this week. One day it was extremely windy and a few roads were blocked on the route due to fallen trees and flying debris. The second was a snowy morning. It had only just started snowing as I set off to work, but 45 minutes later as I was on the last hill up to work, I found that my car couldn’t quite make it and had to walk the last bit.

I was surprised with the impatience of other drivers on both days. Blasting your horn at someone who has had to change lanes due to the road being blocked (not me by the way), or driving extremely close to the back of the car in front because you think they’re going too slow (me, I hate driving in snow) doesn’t really help.

However it did make me think about the way I react in some situations. Sometimes I am impatient and get irritated at things that don’t quite go my way. I realise that this doesn’t help anything and quite often makes situations worse. So in the coming week my aim is to be a little more tolerant and have a bit more patience.

Walking with a purpose

I have been persuaded to enter the Moon Walk in London in May. this is a 26 mile walk, during the night, in my bra! This is for “walk the walk”, which donates money to breast cancer charities. I am walking with my friend, who is recovering from breast cancer. This has now given a purpose to my walking and an added incentive to keeping fit. Hopefully by May I will feel confident in wearing my bra in front of thousands of people.

Last year my friends and I walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks for a local children’s hospice. It was a horrendously rainy day and I’m not the fittest person, but with the encouragement of my husband and my friends I completed the walk. For some this may seem like a small achievement, but knowing that I had not given in and the fact that we had raised money for such a good cause made me feel great for weeks afterwards.  I proved to myself that if I set my mind to it I can achieve anything.

The joy of singing

I have returned to sing in my local community choir this week in Batley (#batleysings). I had to take a break for a while as my husband had an operation and was immobile for a while. I’m not saying that I’m a great singer (luckily I didn’t have to audition) and I can’t really read music, but I love singing. I have always been someone who sings in the car or when I’m at home on my own. I also love to listen to music if I am out walking on my own. I often sing along in my head, but sometimes find that I am actually singing out loud!

However, singing alongside other people and singing harmonies is a completely different thing. It certainly took me a while to work out how to sing one thing when someone sitting next to you is singing something else.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy being able to sing with the choir. If you’ve never done it, I would encourage you to give it a go.

And now a shameless link to my fundraising page

http://wtwalk.org/moonwalklondon2017/claire-66