If We Were Having Coffee – Life Musing #15

If we were having coffee I’d start by saying thanks for sticking around. These past two years haven’t been anything like we could have predicted, and they certainly aren’t what you signed up for.

When I first started writing and you first started reading, things were much more action packed. We’d chat about my adventures and the ridiculous access barriers I would face. I’d rant and ramble and have a good moan. Well I guess that hasn’t changed, even if the subject matter has.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that’s all about to change. I’m slowly getting back out there, and although I’m being rather choosy about the escapades I’ll be venturing on, there will at least be some!

I’ve even painted my nails.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you I got my fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. And that’s partly why the adventures will be recommencing. That and the fact that I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m one of very few left caring, nothing is going to change in terms of protections/restrictions, and a person can only feel left behind for so long.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that getting my fourth vaccine was not as easy as it sounds. These eligibility lists have always needed a little deciphering, leaving much to interpretation. Although I’ve always been classed as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, these lists were constantly being shortlisted. Neurological conditions were on the list, but not Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Even though Motor Neurone Disease is, and SMA is a type of that. But there we go, nothing in life is straightforward. Long story shortish, phone calls, a consultants letter, a GP message and 101 questions at the vaccine centre later, I got jabbed.

If we were having coffee we’d be sure to talk about the weather. It’s been getting rather sunny here, you’d think summer was on its way. Thank goodness.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the weather affects me, lately. It’s almost like there are two different versions of me. A winter me and a summer me. Not only is life just better when the sun shines, things feel on the up, motivation strikes. But I’m also remarkably more mobile. Not in the running about kind of way. The sun doesn’t have quite those powers. Things are just easier, my hands have more movement and strength. I’m not all seized up. When you’re me, things are measured in minuscule. A centimetre difference in how full my cup is, can make or break my ability to lift it. Well when the sun shines, I feel I gain millimetres.

If we were having coffee you might remember Terrance. The living Christmas tree. These warmer days have meant I’m back spending a little more time in the garden, during which I noticed Terrance seems to be flourishing.

Maybe Christmas just isn’t his thing.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you know how difficult it is to get eye test these days?! Probably harder than you think, when you’re a wheelchair user with very limited mobility.

I booked an appointment at the local Specsavers. Online as you do, because the world is an accessible place these days. Ha. There were some tick boxes and sections to fill out if you have any special requirements. Access shouldn’t be special, but I alerted them of my wheels, and ticked the wheelchair access box.

I arrive to their surprise, having been booked into an inaccessible room. But that was the least of my concerns, because once that was quickly sorted I realised that the only way to test your eyes at Specsavers these days is to put your head up against a giant machine that barely moves.

Long story shortish, I couldn’t. After a hunt for the antique testing glasses thingys that they didn’t have, I was told my only option was a home visit a month later. Because they have the antique thingys that are far too simple to use in store.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you I shouldn’t have to have a home visit for something so simple and routine. I did though, my eyes were all ok. Although he did say I’ll likely need reading glasses by 40. Which isn’t all that far away. I wonder how accessible that appointment will be.

If we were having coffee you might think I look a year older. That’s because I am. I turned 37. The last birthday I had without a lockdown was 34. So I decided to venture out for this one.

If we were having coffee you’d know that I’m partial to the occasional (regular) afternoon tea. Well The Assembly House in Norwich have recently mixed that up a bit, and have created the Beforenoon Tea. Now if there’s something I like almost as much as afternoon tea, it’s brunch. This being a combination of the two, I had to check it out.

It was delicious, as expected.

After devouring the first course of a mini full English, a cake stand is served. Cheese scones with bacon jam (oh my), croissants filled with cream cheese and smoked salmon, mini cheese toasties, sausage rolls, cinnamon cruffins, blueberry muffins, granola yoghurt, mango cheesecake. Needless to say, I took a box of leftovers home!

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that I did a little shopping on the way home. Well I tried to, but didn’t actually buy anything. I know I’ve been in limbo for quite some time, but browsing the rails in Primark was like stepping back into a 90’s time warp. Camo crop tops and patchwork denim jeans. I’ve lived through that before, I don’t need to again.

Where do 37 year olds shop for clothing? Genuine question.

If we were having coffee I’d ask if you knew that you could react to a message on WhatsApp? (You know, like add a sticky little thumbs up or heart). Because I didn’t. Until a friend told me the other week. It seems like there are so many ways now of showing what we think or feel, without saying a thing.

It’s funny, though. Because I remember a time when my texts used to be like ‘R U ok?’ Because I’d run out of characters, and longer texts cost more money. No lie. Now my messages are so long that I paragraph them. If only I could have written my dissertation years ago on WhatsApp. I’d have been done in an afternoon.

While on the subject of gadgets and technology, if we were having coffee I’d tell you Netflix needs a watched folder. Or a process that highlights or darkens the titles you’ve seen. I know there’s watch again. But.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that I can watch a film one year only to go and watch it the following one and wonder why it feels a bit déjà vu. I’ve seen it before.

While on the subject of TV, I watched the last episode of This Is Us. I really don’t want it to be the last episode. I feel I’ve grown old with those Pearson’s.

There was this quote near the end “If something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening“

And it has never rung so true.

If we were having coffee I’d tell you that the world lost two sparks last week. I was reading a book at the time and this quote came up and really made me think.

“Some people burn too bright to last long.”

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