“Life is like a roll of toilet paper…

/ February 4, 2012

…the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.” I don’t know who that quote comes from, but I really wish it was me!  Life definitely is like that, and finding ways to stay focused on really living and thinking deeply is always a bit of a challenge, as life often gets in the way. Working, running a home, bringing up your kids, taking care of elderly parents or being involved with sick friends, living with chronic illness or disabilities, staying active, having hobbies… these all get in the way of taking the time to think about how you are living and whether or not you are really on the path that is right for you and fits into your inner dreams. As a young child, a year seemed like an eternity; if you are only 5 it is a tiny 1/5th of your life, whereas for me now, it is almost 1/54th of my life, and getting smaller every day. Life flies by regardless of whether or not you are taking it seriously and planning for your future. Buying a house, building up a business, studying for a degree, these all take loads of focus and energy and thinking, and when we achieve one of these goals, we usually think it was worth the effort. I often ask myself why then do we let life slip by without thinking about it? Why does it take a crisis or illness or the death of a loved one to make us sit up and take notice of how and why we are living our lives, and to then make changes to it? These seem eternal questions, ones I haven’t yet found all of the answers to, but I am learning about and thinking about them almost every day. Some days I wonder why I am bothering to find the energy to focus my brain on documenting my trip on the dementia train. Is it really for recording my thoughts, or for memory recall; is it becoming a historical social journal, or does it really need to be written at all? It has become important to me, and I spend time on reading it most nights to jog my memory about my days and life. Many times, it is like reading a biography about someone else; some of the time it does jolt my memory, others it simply does not. Now that I have truly come to accept you live until you die, and am just getting on with my life in the best way I can, that is all that really matters. So I am having fun, thinking good thoughts as often as possible, learning to laugh more often at myself, sharing my love, and most of all counting my blessings. And, as Anne Rice once said, I have fallen into the joy of writing.

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18 thoughts on ““Life is like a roll of toilet paper…”

  1. Amazing and aspirational! Here is a few links about dementia and elderly people you are more than welcome to include in future blog post. Thanks for sharing. https://www.oceaniahealthcare.co.nz/news/she-can-still-enjoy-the-moment. This is about a sensory room which helps bring back memories for dementia sufferers. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/carolyn-robinson-sensory-room-dementia-patients-auckland-rest-home-quite-lovely. Another link about the sensory room. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/meet-reg-the-96-year-old-aiming-to-smash-records-on-the-velodrome. This is about a 96 years old New Zealander on the velodrome-that is found on a current affairs show called seven sharp. Amazing! https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/take-a-trip-to-the-south-auckland-retirement-village-which-is-using-dance-to-keep-in-shape. Another article about an Auckland rest home keeping there residents active by having a daily discoe-very cool! https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/take-a-trip-to-the-south-auckland-retirement-village-which-is-using-dance-to-keep-in-shape. Here is another dance group of people aged 68-95-a New Zealand dance group-amazing! That groups gone overseas to perform-sensational! There are people in that group who have dementia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3UGNLoDko. I hope you enjoy all of the links, Kate-all amazing what elderly people can accomplish. Apologies about not being able to hyperlink-i don’t know how to hyperlink!

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  5. I thought you were going to say each day is like a sheet, starts out looking good and ends up covered in shit. Then you flush it and get onto the next sheet. Hence the saying “different day same shit”. I think it was John Lennon that said “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans” how right is that.

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