I love this photo of my sister. She sent it to me a short while before I came back home for Christmas, just in case I didn’t recognise her (as if?!). She reminds me of a young Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the image isn’t dissimilar to one from the film that I have on my bedroom wall. 

You see, I think my sister is beautiful, I always have. In my eyes she possesses the kind of beauty that never fades or dulls over time; a true classic, regardless of age. Her skin is flawless, her eyes bright and her features strong. She rarely wears make up and can throw an outfit together in a heartbeat and will look like she has spent hours in front of the mirror. To top it off, she is kind and loving, patient and ever so tidy, and is always the first to offer help to a friend. Me, on the other hand, won’t even put the bins out without first applying at least two coats of mascara and making sure my tracksuit bottoms are ‘street worthy’. It’s not uncommon for my entire wardrobe to be strewn across the bedroom floor as I try and find ‘something’ to wear and even then I’ll change my entire outfit at least three times in any one day. I have a cleaner, the patience of a Jack Russell puppy and a fuse so short that and electric toothbrush could trip it; and as much as I don’t like to admit it, I can be quite selfish on occasion.  

There were many times growing up where I cursed my red hair, freckles and skin that burnt at the mere mention of sunlight, and wished that I had got more of my Dads Maltese genes, and ultimately was a little more like my sister. Our hair colour and bone structure aren’t the only differences between my sister and I. In fact, I can’t think of much we do have in common. Our love of Indian food is about as similar as we get. I’m competitive, she’s not; I love the spotlight, she’d rather hide in the wings; I exercise for fun, she certainly doesn’t; even the hand we write with is different. Mum has often said how she doesn’t quite understand how she could have two daughters so very polar opposite to one another. We take chalk and cheese to a whole new level. 

But as we sat on her sofa tonight, giggling so hard that we both had tears streaming down our faces, after having spent a wonderful day together with our children, our differences melted away like frost on a spring morning. I realised then, that while we may not talk as often as we’d like; our busy lives and an 11 hour time difference making a five minute chat seem almost impossible at times; and while we may have missed more of each others birthday celebrations than either of us care to be reminded of over the years (turning 40 certainly wasn’t the same without you), we are still the best of friends. For all of our differences, we will always be sisters. And while some siblings grow apart as they grow older, I want you to know that I cherish our friendship and hope that it always stays as strong as it is today. I love you Skatie Lou. 

G xx

I’ve just spent four wonderful days down in the southern part of the UK bringing in the New Year and catching up with old friends. As I was sat in the car on the six hour journey home, scouring the radio channels for something to keep me entertained (and awake, after a couple of later nights than my 40 year old self is used to), I stumbled on Heart Fm’s top 100 feel good songs of the last decade. On a slight tangent, it should really have been named the top 100 feel good songs of the last two years but I did only listen to the top 11 so I’ll reserve judgement. The hour that followed, as the top ten was revealed, inlvolved the stereo being cracked right up, bets being taken between a 6 year old and his mum as to whether Pharell Williams with ‘Happy’ or ‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars was going to take out the top spot, only to both be proved wrong, and both of us singing at the top of our lungs to every song that was played. 
As I sat there watching the sheer delight on Patrick’s face as he sang along with me (I do have to add that I was a little disturbed by the fact that he knew all of the words to Little Mix’s ‘shout out to my ex’ and think that maybe I need to mix up my playlist a little more frequently) and noticing that I too was smiling from ear to ear and singing a little louder than anyone should probably ever be subjected to, that we were having a truly wonderful time. 

On what can only be described as an otherwise very boring and tedious journey, I was reminded, very fantastically and quite simply so, that it’s the little things, moments in time such as the one we were sharing, that are truly special and which will long exist in both our minds as happy memories. 

I know I get caught up in the big stuff, as I’m sure many others do, probably all too often. I have been told on many occasion to ‘go with the flow’ a little more or ‘enjoy the journey’ as the destination is just where you end up, but I do find it hard sometimes to enjoy the ‘grey matter’, the bits that are not so stand out in the stage show of life, or which don’t appear to have an end point or higher purpose attached. As those who know me would likely expect, I had already written my goals for 2017 before 2016 had drawn to a close, and as usual, I haven’t gone for the easy to reach, have some fun along the way kind of targets, I have once again set the bar so very high, even by my standards. I have no doubt that I will achieve most, if not all, but after today’s car journey, I’m going to add in a few smaller ones, where I actually take some time to enjoy the little things; the special moments that often get lost in the big picture stuff or get overlooked for the more spectacular moments maybe; and in those moments, I hope I remember to be thankful for the opportunity of those times and for all I have. Moments like dancing to Mr Brightside at 2am with friends that I haven’t seen for over 12 months but where it feels like I’ve never been gone; moments like sitting with your best friend having a deep and meaningful conversation in a train station drinking tea after riding carousels and playing ‘hook a duck’ with your kiddies; moments like doing your sisters make up at 10pm, only for her to take it back off half an hour later and both of us secretly hoping she doesn’t end up looking like a cross between Dame Edna and Alice Cooper; quite simply, the moments that make the big stuff worthwhile and the hard stuff just a little more palatable. 

So thank you Heart Fm for the ‘feel good tunes’ and reminding us that there is always a time to sing, dance and smile; and although number 1 was a slight let down to both Patrick and I, we certainly enjoyed the journey getting there.