Have you ever missed the boat? Or found that the train had left (without you)? We had a great laugh to today when we discovered that Irish people are more likely to have missed the boat, whereas the Germans would have had problems with the train (“Der Zug is abgefahren!”).

Apart from the ‘real thing’, these are, of course, also expressions indicating that a chance or an opportunity had passed and now is no longer available. And as Ireland is an island, ‘missing the boat’ was the thing you wanted to avoid, whereas the Germans were (and are) more into chasing their trains.

We also had great fun today when Pádraig started to do his physio again on the floor mat, for the first time since Christmas. He really enjoyed it! Feeling his body, starting to recover control over his body, using all sorts of muscles he’d never use in the bed or when standing or when in his wheelchair. It must be an unbelievable journey of recovery for him.

Conscious that me body is not getting younger, I re-joined a yoga class I had been to before Christmas. The comment of a young person who joined me (and who went to the class for the first time) was: “I’m turning more often in my bed during the night than I did during the 1 1/2 of this class”. Veeerrry funny! I think they were having me on….!

The fun conversation about the boats and the trains made me think. It’s better to catch them, whether it’s the boat or the train. Because some opportunities don’t arise twice. And when they’re gone, they’re gone.