My Mum would never allow us children to whine or whinge, ‘self pity does no one any good’, she was fond of saying, ‘you have to get on with stuff’.  Yes, Mum, I say to myself today, you are quite right.  I am deciding to do just that.

Last night storms blew strong, keeping me awake, and this morning when the winds dropped we have no phone or internet signal, the mast must have been affected by the winds.

With no early morning social media to do, I decided to get on with our washing, which isn’t actually a simple as it used to be, although it isn’t difficult either.  I just use a small washing machine and a spin dryer.  All was going well until the washing machine jumped off its stand, well actually a makeshift stand that is a plastic box and it fell to the floor, breaking the lid from the base.  Luckily I was able to sort it quickly, it just clipped back together and after finding a more stable stand it continued to wash our bedding.

Soon it was time to spin it and as usual I placed a flannel over the top to keep it neat.  Except it didn’t, instead it jumped down between the drum and the case and jammed the spinner.  Today is just not my day.  I tried to fish the flannel out but it was impossible to reach, it was all too tight. The spinner wouldn’t spin, the clothes were soaking wet, oh my. Never mind I thought, I wil buy a new one, turning as ever to Google to find suppliers locally before remembering the internet was down, following the storms.  My life is ever more interesting these days.

So, I thought to myself, what would Mum do? I also then remembered the times, when I, as a single Mum, had my own tool kit.  How hard can it be to take a spin dryer to bits?  Turns out it is a lot easier than putting it back together.   A small screw removed the cover at the base and then just three more screws and the drum was free.  I just popped my hand it and removed the flannel. Fantastic.

It is fair to say it took at while to locate the nuts I had failed to notice falling off when removing the screws, and a bit longer to fiddle them into place, but with perseverance I did it.  The spinner lives to spin another day.  Washing done, all is well.

The whole thing has helped me to remember that I can actually do most things if I let myself try.  I am thinking of all the jobs I have done over time, fixing shelves, sorting squeaks and creaks and generally getting on with stuff.

I am going to treat everything that is happening to me at the moment just like that spin dryer.  If it is broken I shall fix it, if things don’t go to plan I shall make a new plan, and maybe, just maybe things will turn out alright in the end.

So, thanks Mum, for a long lost memory, so many things you said and did stay with me, and help, especially in the difficult times. You were tough on us as kids, when along with lots of love made sure that we could stand on our own two feet.  Self pity is an indulgence, occasionally an essential tool in the survival kit, but never a default position.

So, this afternoon the sun is shining, and yet rain still around falls often in crazy bursts of energy in the Welsh hills, phones are back working as is the internet.  Things are being fixed all around. All will be well.