All week I have been saying I would not get out of bed on Sunday morning.  I wouldn’t even answer the phone or the door.  On this date, the 20^th of May, the last two years I have had bad news.  Two years ago our 16 year old family pet was hit and killed by a car.  One year ago on this date I received the phone call that the radiologist had found a spot on my mammogram.  It was a challenging year.  I got through the cancer surgery and radiation and started hormone treatment, did some travelling, attended a dear friend’s funeral, our daughter moved away and I visited my aging parents in the USA twice.  A big year by anyone’s standards.

But this morning, on the 20^th of May I woke at my normal time and put on a pink top and enveloped myself in my billowy (also) pink cardigan to ward off the winter chill while making myself a cup of coffee. (Pink is the colour of self love, but I assure you on this occasion it was a very subconscious action)  After breakfast I went to the grocery, then for a walk, and it wasn’t until I was nearly home I realised the date!! I was happy that my inbuilt optimism had overcome my trepidation for the date and gotten me out into the world.  As I walked up our street I began thinking about the preceding year and I wondered who of my neighbours had also had challenges.  Walking passed one house after another I realised… they had their car stolen… she had breast cancer… they had a large tree fall into their pool… she lost her husband… she has fibromyalgia… both of their mothers are very ill… they are getting a divorce… she had a stroke… and those were only the events I knew about!!  Everyone of us experiences things that challenge us and many times we never know what others are facing.  It made me realise even more how important it is to be kind to each other.

Yesterday my friend sent flowers because she would not be here today to wish me well on what she knew had been a difficult day.  It brought tears to my eyes and a hug from my husband.  I said I felt a little silly but he said it was natural to give some thought to the events of recent years.

This afternoon I sat in the winter sun, wrapped in my pale pink cardigan which I wore to the mammogram a year ago, about to sip a cup of tea… and the phone rang.  For a moment I forgot my resolve to not answer and I picked it up… it was a dear friend in Darwin calling because she had felt a strong urge to talk to me.  How can you think there aren’t guardian angels?