E – Every Little Helps

Due to other commitments, namely giving a few more talks and getting ready for Christmas, it has been a while since my last post – sorry!

Christmas is of course a lovely time of year but I do find it a very busy time as I put a lot of effort into the weeks leading up to it. I see Christmas as an opportunity to show people how much I appreciate their friendship and support throughout the year, or in years gone by. In most of my cards I therefore write a personal message and/or enclose my annual letter. I probably also buy for more people than the average person does, for example, I buy for my taxi drivers as without their reliability throughout the year, I wouldn’t get to work. Like most people I also have very good friends and a very special family who I naturally like to buy for. The topic of this post, Every Little Helps, has also applied to Christmas this year. Due to the environmental impact, we as a family have decided not to wrap presents which we give to each other. Wrapping is very fiddly for me so I kid you not this has probably saved my 4 hours of work meaning that I can write this blog now rather than it having to wait until the New Year

Aside from the big things which people do to help me there are also the little things which are a great help. At work, for example, only the other week, someone offered me a cup of tea and they couldn’t quite believe how joyously I accepted it. They looked at me somewhat puzzled, saying, it is only a cup of tea, but making myself a cup of tea, at work, takes me a lot of effort. The kitchen where we get the hot water from is a little away from the office so I have to use a travel mug, with a lid, and walk back very carefully not to spill it. I value my independence so much, meaning I wouldn’t want people to make me tea all the time, but when they do then offer it is very welcome. Where I used to work, they were particularly bad at keeping the draining board clear meaning until I cleared it I did not have space to put my cup down, while I operated the water tank. (Most people can hold their cup in one hand as they pull the lever down but I can’t.) As soon as I told them that it was adding effort to my ‘making a cup of tea regime’ they always made sure there was a little gap – an enormous help.

Sticking with cups of tea, other little things really help when I am at home. Firstly the ‘tea bag tidy.’ Due to being too wobbly to be able to carry a cup of tea from my kitchen to my coffee table I put my empty mug on the coffee table and then bring everything to it (ie the water and the milk!) I therefore find a ‘tea bag tidy’ extremely useful as I don’t really want to bring my kitchen bin to the coffee table as well – in order to throw the tea bag away! Secondly bricks on my balcony – yes – you’ve read it correctly. Due to my balcony being quite small, I cannot fit a table on it which is not too low for me to easily pick up a drink from. Mum and Dad therefore came up with a brilliant idea of putting bricks underneath the table so now I do have a table at the right height

Tables, in general, are another thing which greatly help. Only this week, I went to a watch a Christmas performance and there was mulled wine being served. I remember thinking that I would love a mulled wine but I probably won’t bother – the effort of trying to stand and drink it wasn’t worth it. My friend who I was with spotted that there was a table in the corner of the hall – with a chair – absolutely perfect! I found it hard not to have more than one glass! Something as small as a table with a chair really does help! Similarly, as soon as my church realised that I wasn’t having a coffee after the service for the same reason, they made sure a little table, now known as ‘Heidi’s’ table’ is always at the back of church. Again, this makes a huge difference as I can enjoy catching up with people after the service rather than just staying where I was sitting and waiting for a friend to take me home.

I have also found little things myself which really help for example the timer on my camera. Despite having a camera on my mobile phone I often used my old camera as I found this easier hold, until I found the timer button. I have worked out if I set the timer for 5 seconds, I can press the shutter button but the photo will not be taken until 5 seconds afterwards, This gives me time in which to hold the phone up and for me to be steady enough so that the photo isn’t a blur. I take far more photos now!

Another great little thing is ‘Drawing Text’ I got this tip from a friend who like me has poor dexterity in her hands. I was watching her texting some one on her phone and I could not work out how she was doing it so quickly – she was ‘Drawing.’ If you have predictive text on your phone and the right sort of keyboard app, then as long as your finger goes across every letter in the word, the word will come up. It is not 100% accurate but I find if I am concentrating then 95% of the time it works brilliantly! I also extend this to work meetings, rather than trying to hand write notes I use the notepad app on my phone and then download my notes onto my computer. (Obviously, I let the organiser of the meeting know what I am doing so that they don’t think I am texting when I am in a work meeting.)

Ending on a Christmassy note, one of my friends once bought a set of metal straws for Christmas. Although I keep telling her how useful they are there is no way she could realise just how helpful they are. I always carry one around with me helping me to drink coffee from cups with small, fiddly handles. I can now enjoy coffees out, so much more

So yes, I agree with Mr Tesco – Every Little Helps!

Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers