Days of Gratitude - Ice Creams and Unicorns, Magic in Manchester

I am very blessed.  Many things I find difficult.  Many things are basically impossible for me and some of those always will be.  But I have a home here and a family.  And I also have a very special friend in Manchester who I've been lucky enough to meet, get to know and love deeply, and visit regularly for a while.  I have much here in Newcastle - see the photos from the last post for just a little of what I have.  And I also have this incredible part of my life in Manchester.  I look at my life and am frequently amazed that I could have so much.  Truly blessed.

That doesn't stop the mental health struggles or the autistic struggles being so hard or mean life is easy.  Life is a fight, every day.  I have to battle hard and even with the battling there is so much I can't do.  It's easy to be too hard on myself.  Easy to wish things were different.  Sometimes I am much to hard and wish too much.  Sometimes it's damn painful that there are good things I want to do, things I know that I actually have the skills for, and I have to let them go.

But I am blessed.  Massively blessed, otherwise none of the pictures in this post could exist.  And while autism is hard, had I not accepted myself last year as autistic I would never have met A.  Without autism, without the difficulties it brings, this post would not exist and my life would be far poorer.

3^rd May

Grateful, very grateful, to be able to travel to Manchester to spend a few days with A.

We share something very special. Very grateful.

The pictures are from the coach window on the way into Manchester.

4^th May

Grateful for a good day in Southport with my magic friend. It included the most gorgeous blackcurrant and liquorice ice cream and later in the day some liquorice ice cream.

We don't have to do spectacular things. Being together is wonderful enough. I am a very fortunate woman.

I would add a two of us with ice cream photo but it is on A's phone, not yet on mine.

5^th May

Grateful for a great day with A. Just being together.

We found charity shops that she has never been to before and they were good. I bought nine items of clothing for £9.50. Some cost £2, some were only 50p.

And I bought this guy. He shines 66 stars, a moon, and a unicorn from his back in three colours and they filled A's entire bedroom ceiling. It was so cool and I happy flapped for ages.

6^th May

Grateful for the time I was able to spend away.

Grateful for Megabus and affordable travel. Grateful for WhatsApp.

Also grateful for my home here and that I have a family who allow me to be me even though that's a very different experience now than it was when we moved here.

This is the cat I leave behind in Manchester. She is a lover of shoes.








Bonus photo:  The ice cream picture I couldn't post at the time.  Mmm, blackcurrant and liquorice ice cream.  Very bliss making.