90 Years of Guide Dogs

Tags

Access, Awareness, Blind, Blindness, Disability, Dog, Earth Angels, Equality, Gratitude, Guide Dog, guidedog90, Hidden Disability, Labradoodle, Sight Loss, Thanks, Vision Impairment, Working Dog

90 years ago, the lives of people with sight loss was very different. Support was sometimes  non existent or at the very best limited. Children’s futures were restricted by what society thought a child or young person was capable of in relation to their sight. Society in general was more discriminative than inclusive as education around sight loss was still very patchy. In short, life plateaued for the majority of people with sight loss at a certain age and stage in life as potential remained a secret treasure that was rarely found. 90 years ago, life was very different for us all but  thanks to many movements to support people with sight loss, positive changes were essential in helping us live the enhanced lives we do today.

Arguably, Louis Braille started the ball rolling in 1824 as he developed Braille as a way to help himself enter into the sighted world of reading and communicating which has gone on to help an enormous amount of people with sight loss have equal access to the written word. The Blind Person’s Act in 1920  deepened the rights and welfare  of people with sight loss to be  protected    which was a huge step forward. It was the introduction of Guide Dogs in October 1931 however that really created change in the lives of individuals with sight loss the most.

Since the first partnership  90 years ago between the canine and human world, things have developed massively. 90 years on, the charity is now also helping children with sight loss as well as adults and does more than just train dogs for partnership. They educate, raise public awareness about sight loss, campaign and do so much more to help the lives of people with sight loss become enriched and limit free. The  Guide Dogs charity allows hope where there once was none and help bridge the gap between the sighted and sight loss world which is huge. They help nurture and train  these beautiful dogs that become our true best friends.

Life before Munch was tough. Living 39 years of my life with secret sight loss I learnt ways of keeping it hidden from people but it took a lot of time and energy. When you have never seen a face , just a blur and have never seen what is across the room from you, that is just life. How can you miss a picture on a wall that you do not know is there?   When that life became a little dangerous from all the falls, breaks, dislocations and many other injuries, it was time to admit I needed help. The help that I got was Minster who affectionately became known as Munch.

It has been nearly five years since I was partnered up with my hairy soul mate Minster Munch and there has never been a dull moment. Munch has been more than just practical help, he has become my matching odd sock. The Drama King that he is,  has almost made me forget I have sight loss as that part of me  now has a bouncer. I can stand down from my past  relentless reliance on memory that got me from a to b as I remembered each route in my head with a combination of muscle memory, counting and taking information from overloaded senses. He does all that now and more. Admittedly, on a rare occasion a passing squirrel may make his attention go elsewhere for a nanosecond but in general, he is now my lighthouse keeper to steer me away from danger.

Munch is my hairy little (ok more Shetland Pony sized ) soul mate who just happens to be a Guide Dog on the side. He deserves the best in life as he has changed my life and the life of my family forever. Guide Dogs are never just dogs, they are the special beings that complete us. Training more Minster Munch like heroes is costly and that is why around the country, there are numerous fundraising events during this month. If you would like to make a different, please visit http://www.guidedogs.org.uk to see how you can help. Thanks from the hairy and not so hairy partners across the land

The Healer Returns

Tags

Acts of Kindness, Animal, Blessings, Children, Dog, Gratitude, Guidedog, Munch

Sorry I have been a bit absent recently. It is just that my furry presence has been needed elsewhere over the last few months, so I have not had time to instruct my maid to write any posts.

Seven weeks ago, my two-legged grandmother was taken to hospital and has been there ever since. She is doing okay but will be in for a few more weeks. I have only got to see her once, so I am missing her like mad. The beauty of my Guide Dog harness means that I can go into almost any place,  so I get to sashay my way into hospital and such. My two-legged grandmother was on a ward with three other patients, and I managed to sneak around to the other patients to give them some much needed pet therapy too. A quick lick of a hand here, and a snuggle into a lap there and the Munch Magic had been spread as wide as their growing smiles. A quick picture taken by a staff member or two and we had to leave. Healing through joy and pure unconditional love will reach places that no medicine ever can.

Three months ago, my two-legged brother also lost a loved one, so we have been helping to sort out their house. As the two-legged humans have been busy sorting through things, I have been laying down peacefully on the couch where the loved one once lay. I have walked around the garden that they enjoyed to be in. I have sniffed each piece of furniture that they had put together with patience and pride. Their feet may no longer walk around the place they were proud to call home, but my paws still feel the footprints that they have left in their home and in the hearts of many.

My fur has been washed with tears from the children in schools, as they have had nowhere else to leave them flow freely. My nose has been kissed by lips that used to kiss their own dogs’ noses whilst they still lived on this earth. A loving ear scratch from a passing teacher gives a blast of oxytocin which will help them get through the rest of the day in peace and love in their hearts. Our work in schools gives me much happiness, as my maids words and my tranquil way gives holistic healing to both clients and us equally.

I may not have been dictating my doggy thoughts much recently for my maid to write due to the chaos of life, but I have been thinking about you all. The maid and I wish you are all well and if not, we are sending you masses of hairy doggy and less hairy human hugs. As our summer break from schools comes closer, we will aim to blog more as catch up with what you have all been doing. Much love from me and the maid.

The Deception Of Looks

Tags

Acceptance, Acts of Kindness, Animal and children, Appearance, Blessings, Blind, Childrens Acceptance, Diversity, Earth Angels, Gratitude, Hidden Disability

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I know what you are thinking. It is a Yeti croissant but no, you would be wrong!

That is the thing with assuming with our eyes, we never really get it right no matter how hard we try. We can never utterly understand what our eyes are tricking us into believing, as we only really see one perspective of an object that fits in with our world belief. Being led around by my hairy soul mate Munch lets people think that he is working for me, whereas anyone who knows him will know that I really work for him. Leading me to a place we need to go, results in a treat or two being eagerly hoovered up and me giving him at least a ten-minute worshipping ritual, telling him how he is the best living being ever in the world. We have found our power balance in our relationship and let us just say it is far from equal. Anyone with a Labradoodle knows that the power always lays with them and never with us.

The deception of looks alone has led us to many a faux pas in our four years together. From being mistaken as  Munch’s trainer as I “didn’t look blind enough to have a Guide Dog” (???) to being asked where my collection bucket was for the imaginary  fundraising collection someone though I  was doing as a fully sighted person with a Guide Dog,  assumptions can be wrong. Assuming Munch’s innocent face is incapable of being one of the world’s most notorious ball thief, is also another misconception. Maybe now is not the time to go into his known alias of “Good Boy” that everyone calls him when really, one of my friends knows him as the Pasty Thief that gently and lovingly alighted a pasty from her three year old daughters hand just as it was about to be transported to her mouth. A swift pasty replacement later and all was forgiven but the name has still stuck.

For me, one of the most infuriating misconceptions in the world today is when people criticize the “youth of today” from the narrative of the media alone without enough experience to make up their own minds about judging a whole section of society. Admittedly, I am slightly biased having worked with children and young people for the last twenty-six years on and off, but at least I have a privileged insight into their world. Working in schools with a Guide Dog brings with it many comments being directly and indirectly aimed at me. Some are hilarious, some are tactful, whilst others are said filter free but I for one love variety, so all are welcomed. There are times however that are heart melting such as the one  that happened last week.

Asking Munch to “find the steps” for us to lead us to our room, he quickened the pace before stopping at the end of the steps for my foot to find our starting point. Having the fuzzy triple visioned blurry light colour ahead of us seemingly reaching up to the heavens (which the sighted call stairs), we began climbing. I was aware of two pairs of footsteps ahead of me going in the same direction and held back a little for us not to get in their way. Mid climb, one pair of light footsteps stopped and began coming back down. Just as we were about to move to the side to let the lively feet and attached body to pass us, they stopped just in front of us. A sweet-sounding teenage boy seemed to lean towards us and ask, “Excuse me, do you need any help at all?”

It took me a while to wonder why he  would ask if I needed help? I began to wonder if I was walking in the wrong direction into a forbidden part of the school  or if something horrible had attached to me on our way up the stairs when I remembered I couldn’t see and had a Guide Dog with me. I know it sounds weird but if you have never been able to see clearly from birth and everything is always a blur, you know no different and it is never really an issue. This is my world where I forget I cannot see as I have never know any different. It is when I am totally oblivious to the fact that it is a disability, there is always a gentle reminder that appears to remind me that it is. When I walk with Munch by my left hand side, I totally forget he is a Guide Dog as I chatter away to him asking him to turn left or right or find doors and objects whilst praising him as we go. The problem when you have sight loss living in a sighted world is that you sometimes forget that people can see.

When my brain finally caught up with what the sweet boy meant, my heart melted. He must have seen someone with an obvious disability (even though I was too away with the fairies to remember I had one myself) and took time out of his day to ask if there was anyway he could help. He did it so discreetly, lowering his  tone not to draw attention which in itself showed what kind hearted soul he really was. I thanked him a lot for stopping to ask  but said we were fine. As he went on his way he told me to take care which I wished him back as my smile widened. There are more Earth Angels around us than we realized. This seemingly small interaction between a teenager from the Sighted world and a grandmother from the Sight Loss world spoke volumes about the world we live it.

To him, his kindness was a natural part of his being  . To me, his kindness was a gift that will get him so far in life that I hope his Karmic bank overflows. He saw me with a disability where I may have needed a bit of assistance. Whereas I saw myself as fully able bodied . We were both 100 % right  in that situation in our own ways. I hope that he always has someone around to help him if he ever needs it.

One Year Bookaversary

Tags

Book, Bookaversary, Gratitude, Guide Dog, Munch, Sight Loss

Was it really a year ago that our book was released?

Due to the rather ‘eventful’ last six months of living through this Pandemic together, I think it is fair to say that time has become an illusion to many. It has morphed into an unexplained phenomenon that nobody quite knows how to handle. New changes to law and restrictions in relation to the virus seems to occur impulsively, whilst sanity in the world seems to be a reality that only belongs on a star millions of lightyears away. Separation from loved ones seems like a slow painful disintegration of the soul to some, whilst many feel like the weeks that they have spent with their families alone have felt a little too much. Our hearts interpret time in totally different ways now more than ever.

It wasn’t until we had finished a busy day at work and celebration my son’s 17^th Birthday at home that one of my children reminded me that it was a year ago to that day that our book was released (despite having typed the date over a dozen time in work that day) . It was hard to believe that a year ago our lives had been full of radio, newspaper and magazine interviews that had to be fitted tightly into the working week. From Magazine interviews as far away as Australia, to local, national, and international radio interviews having to be coordinated into suitable time zones, life was a little chaotic to say the least. Time management took on a whole new meaning for us as we figured out how the publishing world worked.

With the first print of the book selling low in the first seven weeks of publishing, a second print was done, Life revolved around family, work and publicity and not much else as Munch soaked up the limelight and I secretly prayed for a little time away from the bedlam. Life was like this for a good five months until things begun to quiet down which was a blessing. It was only two days after we had done an event to promote the book that the local Lockdown began to take hold. When that pause button in life is pressed, there are so many blessings that we will only appreciate on reflection. The main blessing for me was that at last we could stop and breath.

We had time to stop. We had time to listen to my own audiobook which was good as if I am honest, I had forgotten a lot of what I had written. We had time to play and have fun with no time constraints. We had time to hang up Munch’s harness for a few weeks and both de-role from work and enter a far more free way of living. We had time to be fully present for those we needed more of our time.

The storm before the calm like year that we have had since releasing the book has been full of magic and perfection in so many ways. We have had opportunities that we would never have had, had we not decided to write about life with sight loss and an adorably unique guide dog. I say we as without this furry soul mate, this book would never have existed. The best things in life are the unseen if we only learn to trust them.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us and helped this year to be such a beautiful surprise full of unknown treasures.

Ever Increasing Family Love

Tags

Animal, Animals and Children, Blessings, Children's Milestones, Childrens Acceptance, Christmas, Family, Gratitude, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Unconditional Love

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So, our much-awaited Christmas present for 2020 is going to be a new baby in the family. What a perfect way to end a less than perfect year.

My second grandchild is due on 23^rd December which is something the whole family is excited for. How do I think Munch will react? Well if his relationship with Arna-Rae (my first born granddaughter) is anything to go by, I think they will be best friends.

Munch came into our lives when Arna-Rae was just nine months old and they hit it off straight away. He went to sniff her when they first met and the fact that she had some crumbs on her tights meant that this was going to be a match made in heaven. A new playmate and a food dropper all rolled into one was Munch’s idea of heaven. She was as gentle with him as he was with her as they played alongside one another stealing each other’s toys.

Arna-Rae started taking her sweet first steps as Munch walked alongside her and when out and about, she would hold onto his Guide Dog harness whilst out on their adventures. He was there for some of her firsts and is still there alongside her as she grows into the beautiful little girl that she has become. As she tries to dodge his sloppy morning kisses, she cradles his head so sweetly in her loving arms that have held him a multitude of times.

She says Mam (shortened version of Mamgu which is Welsh for grandmother) and Munch and not just Mam as she knows we come as a pair. She has only really known me with Munch as my Guide Dog and never on my own so to her, we are one. His happy helicopter tail rotates with delight as she comes crashing through the door as he knows his food dropping playmate has arrived for some fun. They know and love each other deeply.

When Arna-Rae’s brother or sister arrives and grows with the family, the only problems that I can see occurring are as follows-

• Who will be the first to snuggle up to him?
• Who will have the most fun toys to play with?
• Who will be most generous with food?
• Who can throw the ball the furthest?
• Who will be most likely to go on mischievous adventures with him?
• Who will be most likely to find his stinky anal exhales funny and not run away from him?
• Who will be most likely to run the fastest with him whilst out on free runs?
• Who will take up less room on the couch with him as he stretches out?
• Who will give the best belly rubs and nose kisses?
• Who will love him even when he is being a monster?

The truth is they will both be there each of these times as he will be there for them. The beauty of animals is that they are only capable of unconditional love. One may give him the most food or throw the ball the furthest, but he will love them both equally as will I.

The last four years as a grandmother has been the best. Getting to witness Arna-Rae grow form a tiny 4lb 12oz newborn into a beautiful, loving, kind four year old who has a wonderful sense of self  has been magical and I am so excited to see what her enchanting sibling will also bring into life. This Christmas will certainly be a perfect ending to a less than perfect year.  

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Sight Loss and Parenting

Tags

Beauty, Blind, Children, Disability, Gratitude, Life lessons, Love, Parenting, Peace, Sight Loss, Thanks

Inhaling the heat on the skin and the unwanted scent of illness in the small body, you can use more than eyes to observe illness in a child. The activated response to a smell of a dry nappy becoming wet, alerts you to the need for a swift change. Opening the door to smell if there is petrichor in the air before it starts to rain, lets you know if the children will need coats to keep them dry. When a sudden whiff of Sudocrem joins you in the kitchen, you know you need to follow the trail to confiscate the pot and start the clean up operation on everywhere that you cherub has covered with this villain.

When silence falls in a chatty house, you need to peek to see who’s turn it is being the ringleader in the mischief being caused. When your child’s jangling zip on their boot gets further away from you in the playground, you need to follow the sound to keep them safely in ear shot. When you hear your child’s favourite toy fall, you pinpoint the exact location to reach your hand out to reunite it with its joyful owner. When you hear the whizz of the bike wheels coming towards you, you remind your child that you must always be aware of all oncoming dangers and wait to cross safely. As you hear the squeal of joy escape from their perfectly formed lips, you join their celebration despite not being able to see what is exciting them.

Remembering the different feel of each of their coats, you help put them on the right child for them to go and warmly explore the great outdoors. Differentiating between the pristine feeling lunchbox of one and the scuffed one of the other, you pack their lunchboxes with their personal choices. Touching the top of your child’s head and feeling their unique hair type, you can tell the difference between your children of similar height. Cutting toe nails by touch, you learn to trust your judgement to do what others do by sight. Picking up toys with fingers on high alert, allows you to keep their favourite games together for the next time they want to play.

Knowing that they are going to fall before they do, allows you to be there to catch them. Tuning into the energy of their friends to know which will always make them happy, you are alert to those who will upset them and prepare youself to be there for them when they do. Knowing that you will not make the meeting as you need to be prepared, you are able to act calmly when the phone call from school comes when they have had an injury. Being assertive enough to tell doctors that they are wrong about it being a stomach bug and telling them it is actual a ruptured appendix, you don’t get shocked when they rush your child to theatre as you are just glad they caught it in time.

Memories of raising four beautiful children under the age of six, fills me with love and joy. These wildly different souls who are now adorable young adults, mesmerised me with their abilities as they grew. I may not have been able to see their expression filled faces or the true sweet mischief that they caused but I always saw their unique selves. Eyes only allow us to see what we want to see but other senses allow us to know on a deeper level. Maybe if I was gifted with sight from birth, I may not have known my children as I know them today. As my little cluster of beautiful being’s glide through life in whichever direction they want to take, I hope I can still learn from them each and everyday and see them exactly as they are.

I love you all in every way that you are.

1 Year Blogiversary

Tags

Achievement, Anniversary, Blessed, Blogging Blogiversary Writing Thanks, Celebration, Gratitude, Labradoodle, Sight Loss, Writing

Here we are, 1 year on, 104 posts published and 1,148 followers on WordPress later. Befuddled is an understatement of how I feel when I think how this happened.

Like most starting out in the world of blogging I had no idea how it worked or how it would turn out but I have always loved a good challenge. I did wonder if writing about sight loss and life with a mischievous, attention seeking guide dog would provide enough prompts to keep the blog alive but I didn’t need to worry after all.

From the start, I have loved reading other bloggers posts and it still blows my mind how each blogger makes such an impact on my life and the lives of many others. Hearing everyday stories from bloggers around the world is far more informative than any news programme can ever tell me about the world. These talented bloggers speak about the true world that many know little about.

The name of this blog came about from living life in the sight loss world, that many in my life knew nothing or very little about. Over the year I have shared stories about little Minster Munch’s adventures and had beautiful comments left on the blog about his typical dog like behaviour that brings a smile to many a dog lovers face. Hearing the amusing stories of other dogs on writers blogs has left me feeling better about the perplexing and comical world of canine behaviour.

The support among bloggers by encouraging each other’s writing is an environment that has to be witnessed to be believed. Grammar police and trolls rarely exist but you can find enthuisiast of the written word and personal cheerleaders in abundance. These are the type of people you could spend all day chatting with and never run out of words.

Thank you so much to those who have continued to read my waffling words and been nothing but kind. Writing two blog posts a week keeps the spirit of writing alive. Never having suffered from writers block only writers diarrhoea, you are very patient people who deserve medals for your patience. Knowing that you want to read about a matching pair of odd socks in the world warms our hearts.

Thank you so much for the dedication you put into your own fascinating blogs. Google would be under threat if you all clubbed together to enlighten the world with your own areas of expertise. Each individual blog can read like a classic book that mesmirises the masses yet is a discovery waiting to be unearthed by that one important person who will make it famous.

With greatest of thanks for following our first year and we hope to share many more years with you. Much love from Munch and his maid.

The Magic Of The Moment

Tags

Alternative, Beauty, Gratitude, Life lessons, Loss, Peace, Thanks, Wishes

As his giggled words “you make a better door than a window” floated through the air to his friends in the park, they all knew what he meant. Just as dense sooty fog obscures the vision of the driver, doors instead of windows allow only imperfect long vision. As necks crane around the seated human in front of them to see into the distance, a feeling of missing out washes over many. When tired blurry eyes loose focus and cannot see with clarity, the haze of the observed objects can be frustrating to the eager eye. Debris from life that ends up in conjunctiva, will always be under the threat of eviction as the owner of the eye tries to remain focussed on resuming normality. Temporary loss of sight is seldom welcomed.

The wave of panic that hits as soon as we lose what we feel what is rightfully ours, immerses us in a feeling of helplessness. A loss of a sense that has worked for us for so long, becomes our enemy as soon as we think it is working against us. We can often forget to thank the abundance of opportunity that the sense has given us in life and go straight into the lack of the moment that we are living in. Patience is a strength that we believe that we often use unless it is in times where it is temporarily not there. When we are so busy focussing on the obstacles that may have sneakily been placed there to push our problem-solving skills, we are forgetting to look at the object with love.

When you cannot see what others can, you learn to imagine what it is they talk about. The frustration that they feel about looking at things that causes them disgust, you feel protective about these things that they disregard. Talking about sights that they see daily but don’t seem to be in awe of, you feel blessed about by being given a chance to enter a world that you have never been in. The wise teachings that the sighted give about the world around us, you take in and memorize the beauty of it all. If disagreements between the sighted occur about what looks the best, you take the best bits and leave the rest as you learn what it must be like to see with clarity.
Next time you see a door when you really want to see a window, thank the person who made such a useful thing. As fog falls all around you, feel the change in atmosphere that nature has blessed upon you. When the person in front of you that is blocking the view irritates you, take a moment to bless that person’s existence as you never know how they may help you of you ever meet again. Tired eyes can always be refreshed so listen to your body’s need to recharge and look later at things through fresh eyes. If debris is an unwanted guest, stop for a moment to think is there a reason that you have been forced to stop what you are doing? Chances are there is a good reason.

If we learn to change the perception of barriers in loss into the discovery of the true beauty in life, we can stop and appreciate what once we disliked. The place to be is always in the moment.

Christmas Wishes

Tags

Alternative, Celebration, Christmas, Gratitude, Kindness, Love, Thanks, Wishes

When bubbles of festive cheer are bursting all around you and you feel like you are in a lead balloon, know that life won’t always be like this.

When the whole world sparkles in festive glitter and you feel cocooned in darkness, know that people can still see the inner glow in you that you are forgetting to see.

When hordes are celebrating the birth of the season and you are mourning loss, know that magic of time can help the passage of change of mind.

When shoppers will throw a lot of what they buy, and you struggle to buy what you need, know that many will offer to share if they are aware of your needs.

When the cheer of happy families seems to be all around and you feel all alone, know that there will always be room for you at someone’s table.

When unwanted gifts get tossed aside by ungrateful hearts and you would love the sentiment of a gift, appreciate the gratitude that you possess.

What if Christmas was less about things and more about people, maybe we could celebrate equally.

What if Christmas was all about us and less about me, maybe we could be surrounded by nothing but support.

What if Christmas was about giving what we need and not what we want, maybe we could all be as happy as each other.

What if Christmas made us stop instead of rush, maybe we would be fully present.

What if Christmas was about change and not about tradition, maybe we would grow in new ways.

What if Christmas was about lack so others could gain, maybe we would each have a similar Christmas.

If you fancy making a difference, surprise a stranger with a gift.

If you fancy making a difference, buy less and spend more time with a loved one.

If you fancy making a difference, buy less food for yourself and more for those in need.

If you fancy making a difference, sponsor a child in need that you may never even meet.

If you fancy making a difference, recharge your battery enough to be available to yourself and others in the year to come.

If you fancy making a difference, lead by example and be the change that you want to see in the world.

Whatever the when, what’s and ifs of Christmas bring you, I wish that your presence will be far more magical than any present can hold. Wishing you a different Christmas full of happiness and life changing gains.

Birth, Death And Transformation

Tags

Celebration, Death, Dog, Gratitude, Guide Dog, Life lessons, Love, Numerology, Thanks, Transformation, Wishes

With birthday wishes flying at him from all directions, he wore his birthday badge with pride. A “Happy Birthday dog” here and a “Aw, he is 4 today” there, he pranced down the corridor in work loving attention that he was drawing to himself. I may have had a little bit of an input into his badge wearing today but he wore it with pride. When he came into this world 4 years ago today it seems he was destined for the limelight.

In Astrology, those born on December 18th are “friendly and charming with a deep sense of kindness, perceptiveness and compassion. Moralistic yet forgiving outlook on life is another feature of those born on this day. Assertiveness, alertness and intense curiosity is one way to describe these individuals the temper tantrums, moodiness, rebelliousness and frustrated behaviour are also mixed in with these charming souls”. Spot on universe, spot on.

This is his third birthday that he has spent with us and each year he gets more and more spoilt. This year he had lots of presents from family members and friends, a doggy cake and doggy beer which he chose not to consume. As our celebrations went on through the night, my appreciation for my little Minster Munch grew by the minute. He has certainly made his mark in this world over the last four years.

December 18th evokes a mixture of emotions for me, as although it is my furry soul mate’s birthday another two events happened on this day. Eight years ago today, my beautiful grandmother passed away. She was the sweetest person that I had ever known and only ever spoke kindly of people. As unconditional love oozed out of her, you could never feel anything but pure bliss in her presence. After a short illness, she passed away peacefully which was her constant state of being whilst alive. The candle that I light in memory for her every year, helps remind me of the warmth that she always showed to those around her.

Not only does this day symbolize the birth and death of loved ones but it also reminds me of transition. Four years ago to this day, I worked my last day in my current job after handing my notice in. As my eye sight deteriorated, I got to a point that I could no longer get around independently. What I was unaware of was when I was leaving my job with gritted teeth was that Munch was celebrating his first birthday. A mere eleven months later and our worlds met and became one. Divine right timing made our paths cross at exactly the right time of me needing a guide dog and him being ready to guide.

The variety that this day holds will always mean so much to me. The joy of birth, the loss of an earth angel and the transition between the dependant and independent world, all hold different meanings. The universal meaning of them all however, is about the meaning of life. Birth, death and anything in between will provide you with any meaning that you want to seek out. For me, the birth of Munch, my pause in my work life and the physical death of my much-loved grandmother meant that I learnt to value each moment in life. Each moment can be the moment that things can change. so live with no regrets, just with blessings of the guaranteed now that we always have.