Dodo Diary Dec 2018: a better life, two years on

Since I last wrote my Dodo Diary, a wonderful thing happened… and two terrible things.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t been updating Emily the Dodo lately, let me explain.

One of the terrible things happened first. My sister Lucy told the family some sad news – she’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Words cannot express my horror and despair at the thought of losing her, but fortunately so far I haven’t had to face that dreaded day.

Lucy’s still alive, but the use of her hands was damaged by the chemo, so she won’t be drawing more pictures for my Dodo Diary. Instead, she has taken to blogging, as she can still just about type on the computer. Take a look at Lucy’s blog.

The wonderful thing came next – we sold our house and achieved my heart’s desire by moving to a Victorian cottage on the beautiful Isle of Wight. It’s the place I’ve always wanted to be – and now I’ve made it!

But as soon as we arrived, four days later my Mum went into hospital, and within a few weeks she died. I never got the chance to spend the happy years I’d hoped for living near her on the Island.

Life’s never perfect.

And I know there are sorrows ahead I’ll have to face. The main differenvce is that I know they’re coming, so I can steel myself and get through them.

But, all in all, I have achieved a better life than the one I was leading when I started my self-improvement efforts. We’re much happier as a couple, we’re coping financially, I’m doing my writing again and I am starting to make friends – something I struggled with all those years before.

There are some more targets I’ll be setting myself, starting in the New Year.

Before that – Christmas food!!!

Come and join my new self-improvement plan – if you’re feeling extinct with the pressures of life, sign up to follow Emily the Dodo!