The relations ...

Christmas is over … and I’m thankful of that.

I don’t like Christmases anymore. Once upon a time, a bit more than 18 years ago, I could not spend festive days with my family in New Zealand. The trip was planned well ahead to get cheaper flight tickets and places on the popular Milford Track. Then in July 2003 I’ve learned I have non-hodkin’s diffuse large b-cell lymphoma. During the tough time of chemotherapy treatment we (me and my husband) came to a conclusion I should not go. Me and my immune system were too weak to be able to cope with the trip. We didn’t cancel the trip altogether. My husband and daughters were visiting our son, who just started his studies in New Zealand.

It is clear that I survived. Otherwise I would not be writing this.

At the beginning of those past 18 years I was growing younger again (after half a year of chemotherapy I was 80 inside at my chronological age of 48) and my priorities changed. I wanted to slow down, but … well I don’t want to waste your time going into details. It is still emotionally charged for me. But it is also “the past”. Noone can change what happened. The only thing we can is to calm down, think and learn new skills, that will help you to live “better” in the future. So, at the age of 66, I’m learning to say NO without remorse I can’t say YES.

Trust and communication should be fundamental for every relationship. Respect and be respected rule should prevail.

Even between kids and their parents. No parent can know, what will happen in the future. My grandparents didn’t know the WWII will happen in their time and all of them lived through. My parents didn’t know that the Warsaw Pact armies will come to Czechoslovakia in 1968 and we all lived through. We didn’t know that the Iron Curtain will fall and we and our kids had the opportunity to travel freely … before Brexit and covid happened.

From the perspective “life is over, but not completely” I only can give advice(s). Please, please, please, don’t believe each and every word others say or write. It may not be downright lie, just personal perception of what happened, according to the person’s age, experiences, personal involvement in the situation.

Talking about the lie – frankly, you’ve read and understood all the terms and conditions you needed to agree to before buying anything on the internet? Although they are quite long it may be possible to read them, if you can read. But understand? Only lawyers may eventually understand them – if it is in their personal interest to understand. Of course it helps if they know the language, robotic translators are learning quicker than people, but still are not perfect.