You can always count on me for…

Love. That indefatigable quality. I will tell you that I love you and I have to warn, I am a hugger! I am a listener, and believe me, I hear everything that you say, including that which is unspoken.

Being Raphie in my blog. All of the Raphie-ness I possess comes tumbling out in this blog. I often find that the words get stuck in my mouth to explain how I am feeling, or what is happening in my life. Somehow it seems diminished when spoken. Here, I am unutterably me!

Irreverence, bringing  levity to situations. A bit of cheekiness never hurt anyone!  

My daughter has inherited this cheekiness. She put a box of fire-engine red hair dye up to my head, and stepped away to visualize how it may look. “Don’t do it mum! You would look like a hot mess!” she hollered, much to the amusement of other shoppers.

Commitment. Not in the scary sense of the word. You can count on me to keep my word. I will go to great lengths to see a commitment through. There are times when I have to back out of something, and believe me, nothing grieves me more.

The unexpected. I lead a jam-packed, life. I want to witness, taste and experience it all, and my daughter has inherited this tendency. Nothing like near-death experiences to emphasise that time is not to be wasted! We look at each other sometimes, and wonder how the calendar got so full! There have been four events, back-to-back in the one day. We have slowed down somewhat, and plan home days too. She and I are interested in art, museums, music, theatre, nature and the pure joy of being alive. I can recommend embracing  spontaneity. Some of our best days have happened like this. We caught the double-decker bus, The Sydney Explorer, on  a whim, and spent hours riding through Sydney and Bondi. It was one of the best days ever!

Understanding. I think there needs to be more of it. Sometimes we just can’t do all that we want, and that includes attending every event, and seeing all the dear ones we would like to. We need to be understanding. I would rather someone tell me that they are snowed under, than to try and battle through and exhaust themselves.

This list also belongs to many of the people in my life, bless them! No wonder we get along!