The Librain……retired

Leather items by Massaccesi, scarves by Hermès

So, it has been years since I last posted on my The Librain blog. My Mother died in November 2012 and thus began a period in my life which saw a massive slide into illness and depression, culminating in retirement in March 2014. I then went into counselling and was prescribed anti-depressants (which I am still taking). I am not ashamed to say that my mental health took a nosedive and my physical health became worse and worse too.

The main factors were:

• Grief at losing both parents and the circumstances of their loss.
• Other difficult home issues which cause a great deal of stress.
• My poor state of health – a list of chronic illnesses which show no signs of improvement.
• Grief – yes, that is the right word – at the loss of my beloved career.
• Massive sadness at the path that libraries in general are taking with sweeping closures and the use of volunteers. The profession that I have loved since childhood is suffering.

It took a long time for me to regain some kind of equilibrium, and even now I don’t achieve that every day!

So, how do I get through each day?

• Family – the love of my family, my dearest husband and two sons, who do everything for me, particularly when I am at my lowest ebb.
• Friends – I don’t have many friends local to where I live, but they are there via social media – mainly Facebook. I am lucky to have so many people to reach out to and who are so kind and supportive.
• The NHS – I would not be here without the wonderful doctors, nurses and paramedics who have done so much to keep me going, plus the huge range of medications I have to take each day!
• Technology – my laptop and iPad help me to keep up with friends and wider family, read news, read Mumsnet (another admission) and generally to be entertained!
• Books – I read, read, read and then read some more. Thanks to the wonderful public library here in town, I can escape into adventures, visit countries and other planets, and forget my worries and stress.
• Food and drink – tea, tea and more tea; tea and cake, tea and bread with jam, tea and cream scones. A lot of food and drink are restricted due to the nature of my illnesses and meds – no alcohol or spicy food. So I console myself with a nice cup of tea (and avoid looking at scales).
• Bling – I have always loved fashion and clothes, although working in schools did put some constraints on expressing myself fully. Now, in retirement, I enjoy collecting and wearing beautiful accessories which add colour and a nice finish to the pretty dull, “comfy”, clothes that I have to wear because I spend so much time in bed.

So, why am I starting a new blog?

I have decided to try to use the blog as a diary for myself, writing about and showing my clothes and accessories and also musing about issues of the day, particularly libraries and librarians. It is only really for my own use, but if anyone finds the blog, you are welcome to comment.