**CommUniCAtIoN**

Today is the third day of a brand new year and I have been pondering lately about what 2013 will hold for me. Just a year ago I was in hospital recovering from a very serious infection that almost took my life and waiting for 'my Josh' to arrive from England. Josh and I go way back...in fact way way back to nappies and bottles and things I don't even remember but our parents do. Every day after the turn for the better, I became stronger and stronger and I managed to see the year through with what I would call minor set backs and my mum would probably refer to as major ones...haha. :)

Christmas 2012 was amazing. My brother , his wife and my gran came to stay with us for 8 days and we had so much fun. Matthew went on an outride with my dad and I and my dad's friend...I was really happy that we talked Matthew into going with us as I wanted him to experience the same freedom on horseback that I do. There is nothing to describe how at one you become with this massive beast beneath you, looking at the world from a different height, feeling the sun beat down on your body with a strength that seeps into you, giving you renewed energy. Then there is the bond of friends and family doing something together...sharing in an experience not many manage to do in this day and age.

Families seem to be more distant these days, not only with space but also with lack of time to spend together. My parents and my gran have so many interesting stories to tell about when they were growing up and I look at my mum and her sister, my aunt, and they have stayed close to each other. They may not live in the same town anymore, but they communicate all the time...I have laughed at my mum as she has 'changed with the times'...not always willingly and sometimes quite critically, but she and my aunt can 'facebook' each other and at one point there was 'mxit' but now it's 'whatsapp'...of course there is also e-mail for reaalllyyyy long things they want to say to each other, but the point is they stay close because they want to and it is important to both of them to keep in touch. When we first moved here almost 8 years ago, my mum used to write....yes write...with a pen and paper, which you then put in an envelope and sent all stamped by the post office, to a whole load of people....all her friends she had left behind, her family overseas and anyone who was interested in reading what she went on about. (When we were back in Pietermaritzburg in September, a very dear friend of my mum's had been cleaning out and she gave my mum all the letters she had written to her over the years...quite a nostalgic moment I might add). Then she became the proud owner of a laptop and instead of writing, she typed letters to everyone. Soon thereafter, we managed to obtain an intermittant internet connection...which by the way is still intermittant - haha - and she started to e-mail. My word, we even have intermittant skype now too, so we can skype if we want to. My point is that communication is so very important for people to stay in touch with those they love and care for, those they want to keep close in their lives and with the changes that have come about and all that is available to us today, there is no excuse for not staying in touch....all it takes is, making time and taking the effort. My mum always says - 'if something is important enough to you, you will make the time, even if it is an inconvenience.'

Times have changed in the medical world too...and because of the advances in medicine and care, people are able to live longer. Cystic fibrosis was first discovered in the late 1930's and only in 1949 were they more seriously able to correlate symptoms and treatment together. When my late brother was diagnosed in 1987, the expected life span of a cystic patient was 13. By the time I was born and diagnosed in 1991, the life expectancy age had increased to 21. The point is that with all the research that is done, the new medicines used and the care given with physiotherapy, we are able to have a much better and prolonged life. For me though, It wouldn't happen if it weren't for those close to me...my support group...my family and friends, doctors, pharmacists, dietitians and physiotherapists. I am important enough to each one of them to take an interest in my life and for that I am soooooo grateful. They all of them care enough about me to stay in touch and help when I need them, and if they hadn't cared so much, I may not be where I am today.

Lets make 2013 a year of caring, a year of reaching out, a year of communicating and a year of progressing. Look up those you have lost contact with, find out who needs you and you may be surprised to find that your life seems 'lighter' and a little less stressed...all because you did something for someone by showing that you have the love inside of you that God intended you to share.

For the first time in 2013, this is Me starting a new year, FAbulous and Fighting :-)

xxx <3 <3

** I unfortunately cannot put up photos as my internet will not allow me...;-(  **