I Wouldn't Swap This Even For Your Erection

You know how sometimes you're having a conversation and something is said and you think, 'that would make a great title for a blog post'?

But then you think, 'hang on, if I use it, won't I actually have to explain the conversation ....?'

Yep, well this is one of those and I like to pretend I'm a bit of a revolutionary so I'm NOT going to explain it and you can draw your own (probably or though possibly not, wildly inaccurate) conclusions.

The truth is, there isn't much in my life that I'd swap.

There are plenty of things that I'd like that I don't have but if it meant giving up the things that I do have then suddenly they don't seem so important.

We had a fun day down at our local park on Sunday.  I'm lucky enough to be a part of a group of volunteers that try to promote our beautiful park and encourage the community to make full use of it.  Often that means that I'm down there with a brush in hand painting out the graffiti on the benches and table tops or planting dog roses in the wildlife garden or, as on Sunday, running around like a blue arsed fly making teas and coffees, helping with the children's races, making a dash for the local shop because we've run out of ice and stopping for a while to watch the happy faces as people soak up the sun and entertainment.

I wouldn't swap that!

I'm lucky that I get out and about A LOT!  I spend precious time down at the beach restocking my reserve of happy memories.  I get to go to Cornwall regularly and sit at the waters edge eating ice cream while the waves lap at my feet.

I wouldn't swap that!

I go out and listen to live music several times a month.  Dancing to bands that rock the pub, laughing with friends, making new friends ....

I wouldn't swap that!

I go to music gigs, Huge Cornwall and The Kaiser Chief recently and coming up, possibly Madness and The Wonder Stuff.

I wouldn't swap that!

I go to shows and festivals, camping out in the middle of nowhere or high on a cliff beside the sea drinking beer late into the night around a camp fire with like minded, easy going, relaxed people as music plays and fire eaters perform their complicated dance in front of us.

I wouldn't swap that!

I spend time with my daughter and her friends as they teach me the latest dance moves to the music they are listening to. I'm known as the 'cool' Mum where they can talk about things and share their troubles (and believe me, there's nothing more troubled than a teenage girl!).  They are so bright and pretty and funny and so full of promise

I wouldn't swap that!

I'm loved for who I am.  I don't have to pretend or try to explain myself or change in any way.  I'm scatty, unpredictable, often infuriating (I have no doubt ;).  Every day there is something that makes me laugh out loud.

I wouldn't swap that!

My life isn't perfect, these are the good things in it.  There's a fair dose of unhappiness, angst and worry but that just makes me normal.  There are things I would do differently if I had my time again.  There have been times of stress and depression, of unhappiness so deep that I thought I'd never see the other side.  There are people no longer in my life that I miss SO god damned much every day! But I'd rather be missing them than for them not to have been there at all ....

I wouldn't swap that ....

I'm an intrinsically happy person.  I get no pleasure in wallowing. I'm a firm believer in live and let live.  I don't do jealousy or sulking or controlling behaviour and I refuse (these days) to recognise it in others.  Get over yourself with that wasted emotion! I do stupid and ridiculous and often completely barking mad. The happiness of the people around me is the single most important thing to me and fortunately I seem to mostly do a pretty good job of making them so.

I wouldn't swap that!!