Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.

Paulo Coelho

The world remains a scary place.

Who remembers COVID? Now it’s Ukraine.

There are situations when right or wrong cannot be used to justify your actions. Invading other countries and killing people is wrong. Apart from the destruction, misery and death it brings with it, it creates more problems than those starting the fighting said they wanted to resolve.

I’m old and I’m German. Believe me.

Did I say that a friend kinda encouraged me to register for a few runs, including a (short) triathlon? Being able to run suddenly moved up to a whole new level of significance.

Pádraig continues to exercise. His hip is slowly getting back to where it was before it developed some serious problems about 2 or 2 1/2 years ago. Lying on his back and with a little help from his friends he is again able to lift it up from the ground, four fingers high.

Pádraig continues to enjoy the longer and brighter days.

Nothing like a walk along the sea front on a good day.

On Sunday night, he went to see the Lumineers in The Point. I think it’s now called the Three Arena.

He really enjoyed the concert and himself. One of his carers had had the idea, bought the tickets, and accompanied him.

Apart from the concert itself, it must have been some experience to attend a concert without another family member, for the first time in nearly nine years. I think it was a great night for the two of them.

Were we nervous?

While the Lumineers were playing across the road, we had dinner in what you might have seen on TV as the location for the First Dates programme. Food was the least important item during the two hours or so we were waiting for the gig to finish. We were watching our phones all the time and when we didn’t, we tried to figure out how they had adapted the layout of the Coda Restaurant in the Gibson Hotel to suit the show.

The trouble started as the car nearly disappeared in a cloud of smoke when I turned on the engine to collect Pádraig. The engine didn’t run smoothly and took about 15 minutes to recover from whatever had happened. Maybe it wanted to remind us that we should start looking for a replacement.

We got back home safely and the car works as if nothing had ever happened.

I am trying to put things into their place. Do what is right.

On good days, I can feel and see a balance. That’s when life is good.

We learn nonstop. Through experience. Taking reasonable risks at each step of that learning experience.

Would that be a way to make the world a bit less scary?

A bit more caring?