Friends

I picked Helen up from the station at eight thirty last night and we grabbed some takeaway food on the way home.  I had some chips and cooked a Quorn Steak and tomatoes to have with them. Even though Helen helped me with the chips I had quite a lot and managed to eat a lot of them. I regretted it afterwards as I felt bloated until much later the next morning.

One thing that has helped me a lot is the support of friends, some of whom I have not seen in an age, many of whom have also been through similar problems.  It has buoyed me up and made me realise I am not totally alone, it means a lot to me and I have spoken to a lot of them since the announcement of my illness on Facebook.  Yesterday I was unable to speak to Kris, A old work colleague and long time friend of mine, but we had an extended Facebook chat and I'm going to make an effort to call her soon.

Today Helen and I went to Wales to meet Rachel, Trevor and their gorgeous daughter Gracie. They are a lovely individuals, a great couple and generous enough to invite us to share some of Rachel's birthday weekend.

I was very anxious on the long drive up to mid-Wales but as soon as we arrived at the holiday cottage and were warmly greeted by the three of them and the three dogs I relaxed.  Normally I get very anxious when I do not know what the plan of events is and can't enjoy what is currently happening. We chatted, had a cup of coffee, then Helen and Rachel walked into town with one of the dogs while Trev and I drove so that we could take Gracie for a walk.  We didn't see the ducks or Lucky the dog so we went to a cafe for a cup of coffee and a chat whilst Gracie played with the toys there.  In between playing with Gracie, Trev and I had a very relaxed chat about a whole range of topics, normally I find small talk difficult and contrived but talking about small and big stuff with Trev, helped by Gracie, was effortless.

Another thing I get anxious about is food or more specifically mealtimes; my daughter Kitty introduced me to the term "hangry" which sums me up to a tee.  This lunchtime however wasn't an issue for me even though we had no fixed time to sit down.  I had soup which was delicious and easy on my stomach and I didn't feel excluded even though everybody else also had pudding.

After heading back to the cottage and a cup of tea we split forces once more as Rachel and Helen headed out to do some shopping and get Gracie off to sleep whilst Trev and I took the dogs for a walk.

All too soon however it was time for Helen and I to head home.  I think both Helen and I were more talkative on the journey home and my anxiety levels were much lower.