Precious Moments

 Dearly Beloved and I went to Plymouth today to meet up with my daughter. It's her birthday in a few days time and we took her shopping for clothes. She's had a real epiphany with money as for most of the year, she's lived without any at all. She can come home at any time, likewise to her Dad's house but she chooses to live in Plymouth and 'sofa surf'. She has no job, is not entitled to benefits and lives where she can. Her health has not been good and she hasn't always made the best lifestyle choices. Nonetheless, she's my precious daughter, I love her to pieces and any precious moments I can spend with her make up for all the times I don't get to see her. She was really concerned about the costs of clothes today and was concerned that I could afford to buy her what she wanted. I couldn't...........she doesn't know that. I've marked exams for weeks to pay to help my son and daughter out, I would just have to stretch to buy some clothes.

 Plymouth, like a lot of city centres was looking 'down at heel', some what shabby and tatty round the edges. A Christmas market livened the place up and Josie chose a hat as one of her presents. 400 'Santas' also livened the place up today, as people paid and were sponsored to take part in a fun run to raise money for the 'Precious Lives' appeal to raise money for the Children's Hospice South West; they're almost there and it's almost built but every penny counts. Everyone of them will have their reason for running; what stars they all were to pound the streets of Plymouth on this chilly day.

 It was amazing to see Josie so well, so happy, really talkative and positive. She wanted to know what she was like when she was small and then talked about the future. For so long, the here and now, staying alive, being upright and a member of the human race was all she could manage. For her to be able to contextualise life in between the past and future was a real step in any direction better than back wards.

It's been a good day. A few pounds spent on some clothes and a rather fetching hat! A smile and a hug from my daughter was just priceless.