Thoughts on a Thursday

That picture is one I have borrowed from here.

It doesn't seem to very long ago that the sight of a cowslip growing wild was a cause of some jubilation.  They really were that uncommon.  Nowadays they are to be seen almost everywhere, sometimes in very large patches.  Those growing on the verges of major roads and motorways might be the result of seeds sown by the highway authorities but the plants growing in our garden and on the grass verge of our suburban street are more likely to have been distributed by birds or wind.  I wonder how long it will be before the cowslip is considered as much a weed as the dandelion of the common daisy.

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I have come to the conclusion that there is a class of people which is, in large part, in danger of slipping through the cracks and being completely disregarded or considered.  Perhaps that is putting the case a bit strongly, but it has come to my attention that there are many people who, because they are caring for disabled or sick relatives, are in need of care themselves.

It is easy for me to feel sympathy with my cousin, confined to a wheelchair by MS.  But what people tend to overlook is that it is not only she who is housebound, but her husband is in almost the same situation.  Yes, he can get out and about easily.  Physically, at least.  But naturally he will not go to places and do things if his wife cannot be included.  He is suffering from MS as well even if not to the same extent as his wife.  At the end of our visit at Easter I commented on the extra work that we had caused him.  His reply was that it was good to have different company and gave him at least a partial break.

My next-door neighbour is in a similar situation.  His wife has suffered a couple of strokes and is now almost bed-bound.  Apart from getting out to do the shopping, he can hardly leave the house and is woken two or three times at night to tend to his wife.  He, too, is in need of relief.  I must make a point of asking him in for a coffee to give him some different company for half an hour - and the chance to look at different walls.