Nothing comes from nothing

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Thanks to Maria from the Sound of Music!

The scales of justice should be firmly balanced but the scales that reflect my life are extremely out of kilter. The good things in my life far outweigh the bad. 

I have experienced the horror of losing a child just 6 weeks after losing my father – my guiding light. 

I have experienced monetary problems. (Who hasn't? even the wealthiest think they have problems.)

BUT

My family has always had a roof over our heads. We never went to bed hungry. I was always able to get to my place of work and the children were always able to get to school. I gave them every advantage that I could. So all in all I was lucky (or blessed).

Lately I have made contact with several of my ex pupils. Some of them via Facebook, where we share the daily funnies or events of our lives. I am always amazed at the little things that link us together. I have developed mature relationships with some of them. I want to talk about some of these.

• First there is Alan who lives in Australia now. A few months ago we went out to dinner and had a whale of a time! Alan re-introduced me to:
• Manuela – a gifted artist (she will bomb me for that! She thinks she is an illustrator!) who has done the illustrations for my books. We have become firm on-line friends and will each give the other a kick in the pants if needed. Her fascinating book Guilty Pleasures… is soon to be launched. As she stays in Lisbon we have a long distance relationship (Thank you FB and e-mails!)
• Sharleen – we are both ardent fans – she admires my writing and I admire her photos! A mutual admiration society if ever there was one! This is another long distance relationship.
•  Ian – full of nonsense – always good for a laugh or a quick come back! And his wife Claire – I have never met you but we get on well on line!
•  Kyle – I met him for tea just yesterday. He was one of my first dancing pupils and was extremely talented particularly as a Latin dancer. I also introduced him to computer programming and web development when he took the IT course at school. How proud am I? He is earning (in his words) a salary that he had only dreamt of and he is still dancing and competing!

A few weeks ago I was approached by one of the kids who gave me untold problems in the classroom. He approached with the words. "I really want to apologise for the hard times I gave you. I now realise that you could have taught me a lot!" – prized words for any teacher!

My family and friends you add so much dimension to my life – thank you!

When I look at the scale – the only bad thing that is out of whack is the struggle to keep body and soul intact as the cost of living increases – but we are all party to that! So all in all I have a great life and I say again…

So somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good.