Love you heaps! Romance blossoms at the waste tip

Week

These days we are all a bit more aware of our environmental impact and I am sure we all take care to separate our refuse into different coloured bins.

It’s a far cry from the days when everything went into the dump.

These days “the dump” is usually a recycling centre, with a stop for each different type of material.

One of those big crusher bins was where Livvie met George when she asked for his

Kristen just sold a house – for considerably less than she might have got. Why?

Well, it was her family home and she used to love it.

But a happy childhood and early adulthood had taken a turn for the worse after she became her father’s carer. As he slipped further and further into dementia, the trials increased and the struggle began to take its toll on her own mental health. By the time her father’s difficulties came to an end, it seemed as if there wasn’t a happy memory left in the place.

That’s when Kristen rejected a better offer for the property in favour of one made by a young family.

“They were what the old place needed to make it a home again,” she told me.

Which struck me as a beautiful tribute to her dad and their good times as well. help throwing something in. He recognised her in the street a few weeks later and they started talking.

Now they are married.

“The thing is,” Livvie told me, “we were both just out of long-term relationships, and I was convinced I would never have another. But, you could say...we recycled our loves. And our lives.”

Love is eternal, and endlessly recyclable. Never simply throw it away.

Helen doesn’t have any family, and barely has money for bus fare.

So, when she was being discharged from hospital, I arranged to give her a lift home. Escorting her through her front door, I said hello to a neighbour, waiting there with a cuppa and biscuits.

Sipping tea, I noticed the ornamental swan made of mirrored glass on her wall. “Ohh, that’s very eye-catching,” I said.

“I love it,” she replied. “Someone gave it to me. In fact...” she looked around, “pretty much everything here was given to me by someone else.”

I was a little stuck for a response. I settled for, “You’re very lucky.”

“No!” her neighbour responded, emphatically. “What she is, is the best friend any of us has.”

Which means, I am sure, that even though she’s been given everything she has, Helen still gives more than she gets!

Katie’s dad has dementia. He’s prone to wandering without knowing where he is or where he is going.

The situation has caused stresses within the family. His care has swallowed up their savings. And, despite the best efforts of individual care workers, the health services available for people in his situation are woefully insufficient. “But, do you know who have never let us down?” Katie said to me. “Who?” I asked. “Strangers,” she replied. “I couldn’t count how many people have found him, lost, and taken him home, gave him a cup of tea, taken him to the police, or brought him to us. Who knew people we don’t know would be so good to us?” The kindness of strangers. In our times of greatest need, or the need of our loved ones, isn’t it reassuring to know we can depend on it?

All of a sudden, trees are bare, The last of autumn whipped away, Winds blow strong, freezing days,

As winter comes into play. Wrap up, go out, meet up with friends, Find something worthwhile to do, Embracing the winter season, Will help to see it through.