Apologies and appreciation

To start off with, I need to apologise for being rather lacklustre of late. I've been struggling a bit with a relapse of depression, exacerbated by the forced jollity of the festive season.

It scares me how this black cloud can still creep up on me despite my previous experiences with it. You'd think I'd know the signs by now, but it would appear that I am always the last to know.

However, thanks to friends (as always - where would I be without these dear people?) I can see that I need to accept that I need medication for this condition. I may always need it, and so I just have to suck it up and accept that now rather than fighting it anymore. The cost is too great.

I just wanted a glimpse of the 'real' me, without the meds, but I fear that the real me is just this me, the slightly broken and inadequate one. But maybe that'll just have to be enough now. The other me is gone for good I think. This one is a little wiser though, so it's not all bad :)

On a lighter note, I made a new friend today.

I say new, but in fact I've known Andrew since I was a wee girl, because we went to school together. But we've not seen each other in about 25 years! He now lives in Southampton but he was back (in my home town of Carnoustie) visiting his family for Christmas so we were able to organise a catch-up blether.

He is a keen photographer and I've been badgering him through Facebook to join Blip, but he's been doing a 365 project on Flickr, so I let him off :)

We blethered for four hours non-stop, which I was relieved about after worrying I'd have nothing to say. But then 25 years is a lot to catch up on! :) It won't be so long next time.

Once again, I'm so appreciative of my friends - old and new. They make my life so much richer and infinitely more bearable :))