Seven ages

I know it's not exactly an original thought, but Shakespeare was such a wonderfully perceptive writer, wasn't he?

His monologue The Seven Ages of Man came back to me - and especially  "Last scene of all...Is second childishness and mere oblivion..."  when we were visiting my mother at the weekend.

Newly-installed in a care home, mum is a shuffling shadow of herself. Dementia has cruelly taken firm and irrevocable hold of her memory and reasoning.

She reminded me so much of a toddler, trying to make sense of her world and struggling to express herself.  At one stage, a fellow resident wobbled into the room on a stick.  She and my mother quizzically eyed each other, bobbing and struggling to form the words they wanted to exchange.  And then, brief contact over, they retreated.

We left, sad at the spectacle and suddenly overwhelmingly grateful of our faculties and freedom.

Omnipotent

I've entered the electronic book world by treating myself to a Kindle. Not an automatic choice,  as I love the smell and feel of books and bookshops.  But then my green conscience whispers that a Kindle has the potential to save an awful lot of trees.

It's fascinating to browse the Amazon (virtual) bookstore and then have entire volumes delivered to the device in seconds.

Doing this the other day, I came across a listing for the Bible, and was impressed with the absolute religious conviction with which  Amazon had listed it:-

                       Title:  Authorised Bible          By:  God

It was a snip at £1.44, and arrived soundlessly - some might say miraculously  - through the air and on to my screen.

In the beginning was the word...

Letting go

The e-mail from the wonderfully-named human resources manager (such poetry) pinged onto my screen just after lunch...I can go on early retirement if I agree the figures.

A curt 3-liner signalling the conclusion of 32 years' continuous work.   Relief flooded through me. I must remember that if / when things don't quite work out as planned, and I start becoming sentimental about the good old probation days.

It is time to go.  I am quite sure of that.   But it is also scary - as big change invariably is - as I contemplate a huge drop in income and the challenge of creating my own daily structure.

I've been beholden to employers, and their whims, for over 40 years.  And now I can be free and decide what I want to do.