Let me tell you a story….*

This is a story about a wonderful, warm, intelligent woman, who loves her son and has watched him grow into a fine young man.

A story of a young man making his own way in life, falling in love with a young woman and planning a life together.

A story of a young woman meeting her new family and trying to find her place in it.

That is the story of ‘The Name’…

It’s a story that we can all find something in common with, whether you’re a mother, son, daughter-in-law yourself or just part of an extended family.

There’s more, of course there’s more, much more, but it’s not my story to tell.

What I can tell you is what I’ve already learned from my lovely friend. We are at different stages of our life journey and yet we’ve discovered that similar issues and problems dog us . We’re using our friendship to enable us to find a different perspective on our niggles, to open our eyes to explanations that we may not have previously considered, to share our frustrations and realise that they are maybe not as one-sided as we think.

I’ve learned that we all have a responsibility to one another. That families grow, they mushroom, they distort and evolve and it is so easy to forget how important it is to be compassionate, and courteous to one another.

I’ve learned that I have a responsibility as a wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, aunt and sister & daughter-in-law. My place in this heaving mass that is my family is integral and my actions and moods will reach far further than I appreciate.

It’s all too easy to push blame away from ourselves, far easier than the journey into self-awareness but it’s an unsatisfying action, a selfish way of life and not one that I want to take.

I’d like to thank my friend for sharing, and she’d like to thank you for all your wonderful comments and insight. The reasons for her guesting anonymously are valid and remain so.

In the meantime I give you her thanks and her explanation.  If you’d prefer not to know, look away now.

I would like to echo Paula’s thanks both here & throughout the post. You have all been really wonderful to give the time to read & comment. It is the wonderful community that you are all part of that has enabled me to share this experience and try to write poetry. I do so thank you for that.

Some answers: the name is Tiddly; she is his fiancée & it has never been mentioned since the comment was made

Finally, I would like to thank Paula for hosting this incredible experience for me. Her comments to you all were so appropriate & just as I would have said. She has been such a strength to me since I started on this journey & I feel so privileged to have such a companion. Thank you P!x

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*Do you have a story to tell?  One that you don’t feel able to put on your own blog, or maybe you don’t have your own blog? Get in touch if you’d like to discuss guest posting here x