I may have mentioned before I’m ridiculously independent, sometimes almost stubbornly so.  It would suprise those who don’t know me very well to know that I’m am introvert, because I am perfectly capable of mixing with people I know and enjoying it.

However it has to be balanced with time on my own.  Quite a lot of it.  Even as a child I would distance myself,  finding a quiet corner with a book for cover and taking time to just be.  I’m genuinely happy with my own company, and I feel sympathy for people who aren’t, I can’t imagine always feeling a need to be surrounded by others. 

However this does not mean I don’t enjoy company, and I’m lucky to have a very special and varied group of close girlfriends, and a wider but just as lovely group of social friends. 

I have found myself in the position very recently of starting to need to ask for help, and boy does that grate! But I simply cannot pretend any longer to myself that I can do stuff – I can’t!

To my immense delight and true gratitude I have found when I ask people come through.  They really do. 

A call out on Facebook this week resulted in an old friend I hadn’t seen in 7 or 8 years dropping round within 2 hours to shift a load of boxes for me.  I paid him with a hug.  Seriously, how simply amazing is that?

I have also had boxes dropped off and meals brought round, and I know when I move house in four weeks the help I need will be there.  If there’s one thing RA has done for me in the last few weeks it’s made me truly appreciate the people around me, my support network, my friends.