Nieces and other niceties

I am surrounded by negativity. It’s my choice; it’s part of the job I do and enjoy. And if I am the whipping boy taking the hits for others, that is my lot and life and I accept their generous payment for that. I also think I am helping the moaners, the groaners, the malevolent and the malcontent. They have as much right to be listened to as anyone and I do have the ability to shut up and listen, even if my mind is wandering back to Rarotonga or forward to the single-malt I shall relish tonight. So, surrounded I am. But like the 1900 Foreign Quarter that for 55 days in Peking was surrounded by the lethal Boxers, relief is at hand. It comes in the form of lasting friendships—personal friendships—formed, often in adversity, with those with whom I work. You know who you are. It also comes from a relatively new quarter for me—kids: nieces, nephews and goddaughters. I seem to have a plethora of them now, and they are all delightful. Before knowing them, I thought of them as foreign objects and God knows what they thought of me. But not now. Now they enrich my life and provide it with a new perspective. Two of them are staying with me now, and another is corresponding with me. It’s making for a special Labour Weekend. So, getting back to my malevolent malcontents. Yeah, I’m still there for you, I’ll still listen to you. But I have noticed a common element for many of you: no kids. So, whereas in the past I might have been tempted to say to you “get a life” my revised suggestion is “get a kid” borrow one, if necessary. They do help you stop acting like one.