Step 24 - Get by with a little help from your Friends

Day 24 of the National Blog Post Month challenge where I’m writing a blog post every day along the theme of 30 Steps to Happiness and Contentment.

I'm not very good at asking for help.  I like to think I can cope and manage everything on my own and most of the time I can, but every now and then it's good to have a helping hand.

Yesterday was one such day.  I was up to my eyes in work at the Garden Centre.  It's our busiest time of the year - Gary's out till all hours collecting plants from suppliers, delivering, planting etc and I'm busy at the shop taking orders sorting out deliveries, labelling up the new stock, trying to sort out our Christmas Fayre, dealing with customers - I could go on, but I can feel you nodding off!  

Anyway, in between sorting out an impossible amount of things for one person, my teenage son texts me from school - he's been having headaches every day for the past week and they're getting worse.  So, I have to arrange for my Dad (bless him) to pick him up from school (30 minutes away) and drop him off at the shop with my 3 little ones to coincide with Gary returning to the shop (after a days tree planting).  He can then watch the 3 little ones and cover the shop for the last hour before closing, while I get Ryan to the doctors.  Why is my life so complicated!  You can't get appointments here, you just have to go to the surgery during opening hours and wait.  It's on a first come, first served basis and I've never got seen in under 2 hours - longest wait was 4!  So I knew it would be a late one and I was unlikely to get home before 7pm and then I'd have to make tea, bolt it down and then take Ryan back to school (as he weekly boards).  Another impossible day!  In the midst of this I sent an email, in passing, to a friend and just mentioned Ryan was ill and I had to get him to the doctor.


I had an email back offering to watch Luc our 6 year old, which was a big help, at least Gary only had 2 children to watch.  Then, a short while later, I had another email from her offering to cook our dinner for us as she had an extra chicken.  My immediate response, was 'no, you can't do that', but then I stopped and thought.  Actually that would be so nice of her and what an enormous help.  So, I decided to accept her very kind offer.  We got back from the doctors at nearly 7,30pm, armed with a bag full of medicines for his sinusitis.  It was so nice just to warm up a whole roasted chicken and veg - she'd even done roast potatoes.  I was so glad I'd accepted her very kind offer, as it was I didn't get in till gone 9pm from dropping him back to school, but it would have been much later than this if I'd had to make tea as well.  It also meant less washing up too -  double whammy!

So, it's great to give, but it's good to know when to accept help where it's offered.  We all need help from time to time, so when someone offers their hand in help accept it and be grateful you have such great friends! 

You may be interested to read the other posts in this series:
Step 30 - The Key to Happiness and Contentment
Step 29 -You are the master of your own destiny
Step 28 - Don't give up on a good relationship
Step 27 - Don't Judge , Live and let live
Step 26 - Don't Worry, by happy
Step 25 - Never give up
Step 24 - Get by with a little help from your friends
Step 23 - Go with the Flow
Step 22 - Enjoy the moment
Step 21 - Love what you do
Step 20 - Forgive and Forget
Step 19 - Unconditional giving
Step 18 - Smile and the world smiles with you
Step 17 - Work to live, don't live to work
Step 16 - Surround yourself with Positive People
Step 15 - Always look on the bright side of life
Step 14 - Where there's a will there's a way
Step 13 - Silence is Golden
Step 12 - Feed your Soul
Step 11 - Follow your Dreams
Step 10 - Use your time wisely
Step 9 - Don't be too hard on yourself
Step 8 - Consider what you value most
Step 7 - Find time for Yourself
Step 6 - Make time for Family and Friends
Step 5 - Don't take yourself too Seriously
Step 4 - Feel the Fear and do it Anyway
Step 3 - Love what you Hate
Step 2 - There's no such word as CAN''T
Step 1 - Find the Best in Every Day