Busy Busy Busy...............

At the time of writing I am just returned from an 80th Birthday Party celebration of a neighbour from Cooroy - this woman is just amazing, her lust & verve for life is insatiable. Every day to her is a gift to be explored and used and enjoyed to the nth degree. She just wrings every precious second out to the end. The common refrain from friends, neighbours and family was " I wish I had half her energy right now let alone at 80" or "Joanie's amazing, I wish I had the energy" and other similar statements.
This got me thinking, this is a woman whose life has been interesting and full of adventures, but not because she is a particular beauty, particularly gifted, or blessed with any other rare or special traits. She has a fair ear for playing music and a reasonable singing voice, but again, nothing particular outstanding.
I think her secret to an interesting and adventurous life is that she is always on the lookout for things to do and opportunities to do them in. Now she loves to be the centre of attention and thrives on being the life and noise of a gathering. You always know when Joanie's around.

She is very involved in her community and has many a clipping with her name in the headline involved in one community activity or another, mainly to do with Pony Club & Active Riders Association.

She annoys people because she is so loud and sometimes she doesn't know when to pipe down and can seem obnoxious on occasions, but who among us is without fault.

Her life is not without tragedy or great sadness but nothing gets her down for too long. She is the only remaining child from a family of twelve kids. I think her secret is her resilience and innate positive nature. She takes joy from anything and everything around her. Her cackling laughter is contagious and her quick wit is delightful.

She, in fact, taught me to swear fluently and fluidly without repeating myself for a solid six minutes. Sadly I have rather lost the knack for it and tend to repetition to some favourite swear phrases.

I wonder what sort of life I shall have had by the time I reach 80, I know it won't be full of family to the extent of Joan as she was from a very large family. But I am hopeful it will be with people who are important to me both family and friends. Particularly, as friends are the family you choose yourself.

It is exciting to think what the future will hold for me and my beloved ones both friends & family. I shall rejoice and live a little more in the moment to be sure that I wrest as much from each day as Joanie does.