Third Week at work

I have just begun my third week at work. It is exhausting, but also tremendous fun. People are delightful, customers in the library, staff some of whom I have known for 20+ years. There is something to be treasured in that patina of long acquaintance; those I work with make that work pleasurable. Certainly there are times when customers are rude, or someone irritates the hell out of you, but they are simply human. Why should we feel that life must always be kind to us, since it so evidently isn't for almost everyone else? But these last two weeks, having spent the past year thrown a great deal on my own resources and often solitary, have been a reminder of the kindness of life. I have been greeted, hugged, smiled at, by so many people, shared bits of news, fragments of their own past years, but also had moments when I've felt terribly insecure. That is the way of life, with pattern variable as the sea by which I live.

There is, however, less time for everything else, so blogging, both following and writing must fit into the spaces in between!

Back to work

I returned to work this week, after a year off, part of which was spent looking after Mum until she died. I was quietly apprehensive about this new beginning in my life. A year is a long time, one in which some pretty major life changes have taken place for me and my dear man: bereavement; house moving; retirement and for me the continuing need to monitor and support the care of my godmother who lives several hours drive away from me. All quite stressful, so back to work was a big bump on my horizon. I have completed my first "week" (I work part time) without disgracing myself, I even feel I've done one or two useful things, but the thing  that has marked it most for me has been the kindness of others. As I have "busied about" the past several days, all sorts of people, colleagues and friends, have greeted me and made me feel welcomed and appreciated. It is such a simple gift from one person to another, a smile, a hug, shared laughter and a bit of a gossip, yet it gives the day a lift and lightness. Life is always changing, it is one of the few certainties we have. I am very aware of the contrast between my return to one of the things that has given all my adult life context and meaning, just as my man retires and so loses this aspect of his life. It is such an embedded part of who we feel we are.
Then I came home and caught up with some blogs I follow and this comment by Pen struck a chord, so I thought I'd share it. it seemed of a piece with appreciating the good and fruitful aspects of humanity.