Christmas cards were duly exchanged at the meeting with my aforementioned friend earlier this week, as we passed an hour or so sipping Coke during a very valuable catch-up. In many ways, it was an encounter that subtly represented a very important element of the festive season today. Christmas is a time for friends and family to come together, be they close by or further away, and whilst there are many people I’ll be glad to see in December, I’m especially thankful that I got to reconnect with someone more elusive at this special time of year.

The meeting has given me not only another thing to smile about, but also another cause for reflection. In this instance, I am thinking of Adam, a fellow wheelchair user with whom I briefly exchanged emails and wrote a post about last year. I remain very grateful that he remained on this site for long enough after accidentally finding it to read and appreciate this content, but perhaps he has forgotten this since I regrettably failed to maintain the chain of communication. He showed me nothing but interest, enthusiasm and support, and there is nobody but myself to blame for the fact that he has received inconsistent replies. I did openly invite emails from visitors on here, after all! My conduct has not been indicative of the friendship in abundance at Christmas, so it must change soon. I will make it a (hopefully successful) New Year’s resolution to get back in touch – after all, as he lives some distance away and we have never met, it is up to me to reach out just as my friend did. If I am successful, who knows what kind of friendship could develop? He could even join this band one day!

Mason