Such a sucker!

Many moons ago when I was in the grip of the anxiety/stress cycle that I couldn't break free from.  Caused by work, I hasten to add. I decided to book myself onto a meditation workshop every Monday evening, however things got too difficult to juggle and as with all of the things I love that help me to relieve stress I didn't go. 

Feeling awful for not puttingl myself at the centre of my world, as everyone should do, I heard about and quickly signed up for a days meditation at the Global Retreat Centre, it would be a whole day dedicated to mindfulness and mediatation.  

I needed someone to turn that awful inner voice down and turn up the volume on my positive voice, or at least give me the tools to do it or myself.

I arrived at ten and was promptly told to make myself comfortable.  As I always do I looked for someone interesting to cling on too, and I found this lovely lady from Oxford. Lady from Oxford (Ox) was with a lady from London (Lon) and a lady from Essex (SX).  It soon became clear that Ox had attended one of these workshops before so I stuck to her like glue.  

The first session was all about connecting to your inner voice and how being mindful could help to channel out the negative thoughts that can overtake you (three hours summed up in one sentence!).  After the first workshop we had lunch it was a delicious vegetarian curry and trimmings.  It was here that I lost Ox, she had wants a quick chat with the tutor, I'm no swot so I didn't hang around. 

Lunch tray in hand I followed Lon and Ex and we began swapping war stories as only women can, each one was worse than the one before.  I couldn't join in, I loved my husband, we were still married and I had no children for him to manipulate.  These ladies were bitter and they didn't mind sharing all the nitty gritty details of their lives (bit like this blog). 

Lon told me she lived in North London and she had been meditating all her life without even being aware of it.  To me, as an untrained professional, what she was describing sounded like "petit mal" little seizures which cause individuals to momentarily loose focus.  Lon had great stories about her job as a security officer at an airport and I lapped up these stories.  I won't repeat because they were rather graphic.

Now the reason for this story is that, I went for my three month post op chat with my GP this afternoon and I got there early, always do.  I was sat on the chairs nearest the window there were four chairs to my left, all unoccupied, and five chairs to my right also unoccupied.  A lady and her teenage daughter arrive and sit right next to me.  All those chairs and they invade my space.  I shuffle and hmpfh, then they begin to play what must be an advertising logo game.  

They begin calling out random brand names, Colgate, fruit of the loom, Sainsburys.  I smile at them, politely although inside I just want to move along a chair or two.  Other people have arrived and they think were together, especially when the woman says to me "have you seen the spider?  You're lucky it's in the outside!"  "I'm not looking!" I reply.  It's then that I reialise I know her.

She's not a teacher 

She doesn't work at the hospital

She doesn't work in a supermarket

Did we do first aid training together? 

No, we did something together.... Then I remembered her voice saying "I've got to leave before the afternoon session because I have to drive back to London!"  It was Lon!  She was in the village medical centre in Oxfordshire.

I remember telling her were I lived and how long it had taken me to get to the retreat (a smug ten miniutes) when he had proclaimed gourde spent in traffic. Now there is a chance she and her family moved up here but I am so suspicious.

SX had said to me during lunch "you have a very trusting nature!"  What he meant was SUCKER!