"CHAIR"

Tonight I sit relaxing in 'my' chair at the end of a lovely day. I turned 55 today and was able to celebrate with some very special family members. But, I also had some time by myself, while John and Sian were at work, to sit in my chair and be thankful for many magic moments in my 55 years.
I was brought up in a family where we were all treated with love and fairness. We were taught the meaning of equality by living it. We learned to share because its just what you do in a large family anyway. We laughed a lot and learned to laugh at ourselves and with each other. We shared the joys of family with one another as we started our own adult lives and had children of our own.
I am extremely fortunate to have a family who has travelled beside me as I traversed lifes highs and lows.
I have been lucky enough to have married a man who loves me as much as I love him and who has helped to produce four beautiful children.
My 'chair' may have changed several times over the years but it has given me solace in times of grief. It has coddled me as I fed Sian and then Jake in the wee small hours of their infancy. It has held me as I held my children and hugged them in times of need. It has listened patiently as I chatted to my sisters on the phone. It has valiantly collected the crumbs of toast deposited each morning as Jake ate his breakfast in it.
My chair has helped me realise the truth in the words, "It is better to haved loved and lost, than never to have loved at all".