At the start of April, some of our family returned to Le Moulin, in France, for our mum’s anniversary get-together. Up until this point, for me, the preceding year had been awful, I know now that I hadn’t dealt with my grief well; my Fibromyalgia had flared up and the me/cfs was out of control. Life had been pretty miserable; I’d been in constant pain, unhappy & exhausted… mentally, physically and emotionally, with no way out of the dark place I found myself.
I didn’t write in my journal for over a year… & for me that means I’m almost at rock bottom.

While I was there, in France, something happened to me. I guess you could say I had some kind of spiritual event, a happening?
I don’t really know what you would call it… anyway, something happened… it was as if my heart had started to heal. I felt a small point of optimism start to grow, gradually, over the few days we were there… I felt moments of pure joy in my heart, for no real reason! just simply because.

I walked round the tree where mum is, talking and listening… I’ve never stopped talking to my mum; she is my friend, my confident and who I aspire to be like… I think being so close to her in France, walking where she had walked and seeing the things she’d seen again, suddenly touched me. She was there, with me, I heard her voice more than once… being there, with her, was the spark that started my healing.

The mill cottage, Le Moulin, was used for making cloth and the smaller building is where the water supply has been diverted, from the mill pond, through a sluice gate.

The next two photos were taken one afternoon, out chateau hunting! I think that all of us really benefited from taking time out, coming to Le Moulin and making time for ourselves… as a therapy option I think it was exactly what we needed to kick start the healing process…

So, I’m back home and about to put pen to paper… yes a real pen, a fountain pen no less! I have a few quick notes to write, to the select few of my besties, just to say thank you for being there.
I’ve started taking pics again… another good sign! I have so much to be thankful for… so it’s one step at a time, one day at a time….