A girls best friend?!

I work with chocolate! Yes it's true. There are jobs that involve making and creating chocolate delights. I'm not talking Cadbury's or Rowntree's massed produced stuff. These are genuine top quality truffles, chocolate bars and other delicious treats. It's a tough gig but someone has to do it!



Today I offered to work in the shop where we sell the chocolates as my boss (and friend) wanted to spend some quality time with her family. It's not what I really enjoy doing as I find it a bit boring, but today wasn't too bad. School breaks up this week and I had a lot of children buying end of year "Thank you" gifts for their hard working teachers. Lucky teachers! I used to teach and all I got at the end of term were cheap bottles of plonk ( and I mean cheap!), awful smellies that my Granny would have liked or cheap chocolates that were almost at their best before date!



Chocolate is, as I've come to realise, a girls best and worst friend. What can cheer you up as much as a bar of your favourite choc (accompanied by a glass of particularly nice wine) or a couple of champagne truffles? But then again we all know the effect that too much of that glorious treasure has on our figures!



There are days when I come back from work absolutely sick of the taste of chocolate. I long for something fresh and tangy, but it is a short lived dislike. Back at work the next day I'm ready for more!



Those Aztecs of long ago discovered a substance that brings pleasure to us all. Forget diamonds! Chocolate rules!

Upside down!

My daughter is one of the most adorable people that I know. She is vivacious, loving, funny, full of life and hardworking. She can also be stubborn, awkward, vunerable and obssessively compulsive. It's amazing what a difference an extra chromosone can make! You see she has a condition known as Trisomy 21, commonly labelled "Down's Syndrome". When I was young it had rather ugly title, but thankfully times have moved on and in this politically correct society she is often referred to as having a learning disability!

What a conundrum! Down's- named after the guy who first collated the characteristics of these fabulous people and linked it to an extra chromosone on the 21st pair.

Oh how I wish his name had been "Up"! For in my mind there is nothing down about my daughter or her life.

Sure life isn't all peachy, but that can be the case with all one's offspring, as I have experienced lately (but that's another story). And other people don't always make it easy for her to have the freedom she so desperately wants.

We have, as a family, had eighteen and a half years of living with the most wonderful person, who has contributed so much to our lives. What we have experienced hasn't always been easy, but we have all benefitted from the richness she brings to our lives and have become better human beings as a result.

Don't get me wrong. I think all my children are fantastic, and they know it. It's just that she has taught us all so much just by "being".

I long for her to have the life she wants and to experience the joys of adult life to it's full. She deserves it and the world is a better place because of people like her!

For better or worse....!

I have come to realise that these "Blog" thingies come in waves. After a couple of weeks of distraction and lack of inspiration I suddenly find myself wanting to put finger to keyboard and blog again! Sorry everyone but here I go.

My inspiration comes from a recent blog written by my future daughter-in-law after the sudden realisation of what it means to be in love with an accident prone Brown! Welcome to the roller coaster ride of loving commitment!

Singleness, whilst having its drawbacks, can be quite indulgent and sometimes selfish. No one to answer to and a certain freedom that cannot be exercised when one has to take into account others needs.

Relationships that are bound together by the overpowering bond of love, on the other hand, have a freedom of their own whilst giving a responsibility to address each others needs.

Experience has taught me that life is not fair and has never promised to be. So much of what we experience is out of our control. Sickness, unemployment, inability to conceive a baby, handicap, bereavement... the list goes on. For many the pressure is just too much and they have to walk away. But for others it brings a strength and depth that is just amazing.

Commitment is not a slavish bond that takes away one's freedom. It is a liberating relationship that means I don't have to "do it on my own"!

I'm glad I promised: "in sickness and health" and "for better or worse". Relationships that promise such devotion are not for the faint hearted, but boy are they worth it!

So there you go Lizzie! Welcome to the family. I just hope that you are as happy together as we are.