Up The Farway Tree

It's not all about the lungs..

The ongoing garden project took us on a trip to a new garden centre at the weekend. We were attempting to select some plants for the rockery, although due to limited knowledge in the field of horticulture, we managed this task based on "Oooh that looks nice - does it say 'hardy' on the label?" In my humble opinion this would seem as good a method as any. My friend Fi has become my garden guru and is giving me lots of advice, and politely answering queries such as "the plant went all brown and the leaves fell off - do you think I didn't water it enough?" My aunt also gave me lots of cuttings last summer which have been sitting in small pots on top of the dogs kennel for nearly a year now. Now I just need her to come back and tell me which are actually plants and which are just weeds that have managed to grow in the 'longer than expected' intervening period. I may sound like a lost cause, but we all have to start somewhere...

Seb has just returned from a weekend break at mum and dads. He is pretending not to have missed me at all. Chances are he actually didn't. I think he has too much fun when he stays there and gets spoilt rotten. Apparently they were both gardening on Saturday and since the front garden is not fenced in, Seb had to stay on the veranda area, which has railings around it. Dad felt so sorry for Seb that he positioned a garden chair next to the railing so Seb could sit on the chair and watch them in the garden. I'm surprised he didn't pour him a long cool drink to sip on as well, although I did hear that Seb was enjoying drinking from the water fountain, which he clearly thought was there for his personal use. Also of much amusement is the fact mum was running (yes running) with Seb on the lead (he cannot be let off a lead, as he would just wander off). The last time I saw her running, she tripped and managed to do a forward roll without letting go of Seb. Now that's what I call quality entertainment.

I had a lovely day yesterday visiting my old flat mate (hello Anna!) for the afternoon, and it really lifted my spirits. It can get a bit tiresome having the same daily routine and I feel recently my thoughts have been dominated by health, and lack of. Seeing friends, especially those from a time when life seemed simpler and more care free, can help put things back into perspective. I suppose it helped to remind me that there is more to me than bad lungs and the quest for making them less so. I did actually have a life before this, and not much of it had anything to do with lungs (apart from the breathing part). It's hard not to become very focused on the idea of 'when I get my transplant, then I can...." and in the meantime forget about living right now. I just need to sometimes remind myself that its not all about new lungs and new beginnings; sometimes its just about what is happening right now, appreciating life as it is, and making the most of today.