Who would you like to give a little cheer to - and why?

For all the servicemen and women, paramedics, firemen/women, NHS and police in our country who keep us safe and well but most of all alive! Also for their families who are the 'silent partners and children' and sometimes have to suffer hardships, especially the husbands, wives and children of service people, who have to 'pack up and leave', sometimes with very little notice, leaving friends, schools, jobs, doctors, dentists, hospital appointments and even hairdressers (yes, this can be important!) or worse, waiting at home while partner spends 6 months in a war zone! Thank you to you all!

I would like to give a cheer to all the people on committees who work hard to keep the wheels turning in countless groups throughout the country. Usually unacknowledged and unappreciated. Often stuck in the position permanently because no-one else will offer to take over. Sometimes even abused by their members, they give up their time and energy so that others can enjoy their sports, choirs, lunch clubs, pensioners’ groups, etc.
Please give them a word of appreciation.

It's wonderful how many 'ordinary' people do such extraordinary things for others.
My dad was one of those; honourable, with great compassion, he too was a civil servant in the then Rhodesia and started a service whereby he and his team taught indigenous black farmers, proper farming skills, arranged loans for seed and tractors etc and achieved so much over all the years he did this job. He was meant to have received an OBE for his service to the country but it was 1965 when the Rhodesian Government declared UDI so it didnt happen. If anyone deserved to be acknowledged for his dedication, committment and hard work for the upliftment of poorer communities, my dad did!

I would like to give a little cheer for the lady who wrote earlier in today's posts for coping with the unremitting grind of caring for her husband so well and yet feeling guilty because she has hit a low spot. She sounds truly amazing.

Sorry not to have come back to comment sooner, but I wrote the OP the night before setting off on holiday and having arrived (in Greece) late last night I spent today in a state of exhaustion recovering from the journey. I’m now writing this whist hiding under the duvet so as not to disturb The Wonderful Man - my coughing kept him awake throughout much of last night so I’m trying to stifle it.

Thank you to everyone who has posted - I’m so glad to read of all the ‘ordinary’ people mentioned here, who are unnassumingly going about doing extraordinarily good things, or simply being very special in their approach to life and relationships.

It’s easy to get sucked into being cynical about life, but there is a lot of goodness in people that I think perhaps we should make more of. I know people of every race, religion, ethnicity, political party etc. who are thoroughly decent human beings and I’m frustrated that, in general, we don’t celebrate that as good news in the way that bad news Is focused upon.

I thought I had the best husband in the world, but reading the threads here I am so glad he wasn’t alone. I loved the way he was so encouraging of my ideas and let me be myself. He was a walking encyclopaedia, very wise and such a gentle person. He raised his voice only about 3 times in 21 years and that was because I was yelling at him!
He was ‘born and bred’ in Los Angeles (only child) and his buddies once told me when he was about 10 years old he used to play with Freddie down the end of his street and he noticed that Freddie did not have any toys to play with, so he loaded up his little red wagon with his own toys and walked down to Freddie's place and gave him the lot.
He has recently passed away and the time I had with him was just not enough. I miss him so.

Congratulations to your husband. My husband saved my life a few weeks ago , I had gone to bed,he sometimes stays up later, but he came up shortly after me, realised I was in trouble and phoned the ambulance. I had two massive heart attacks and needed heart surgery. Iam OK now, not fully recovered but so very grateful to my darling husband of 43 years help save me. Love him forever.

For the support I receive here, still sure you saved my life

And my three grandchildren, they came through such a dark few years and coped with university when their mother died.

They are so full of love and caring and laughter , I adore them and they love me which gives me such joy

That’s lovely GabriellaG . You were truly blessed.

Good for you farview and not at all selfish .

farview
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Selfishly..to myself...for coping with so so much stress from so many angles .for so long....

To my (now deceased) parents. For giving me, my sister and brothers the most loving, magical, memorable childhood and instilling in us the ethics of integrity, hard work, self belief, truthfulness and family values.
Those things cannot be bought but they can be passed down the generations.

BradfordLass72 - thank you so much for the cheer and the flowers.

A big cheer here for my carers. I'm 54 with a progressive illness. They treat me with care and we laugh when they have to sort out my intimate things. Some of them are more like my family than my actual family, who I rarely see for reasons only known to them! The folks on here are truly inspirational. A big cheer for everyone.

grannyactivist you should contact some of your husband’s colleagues and suggest nominating him for an MBE! He sounds like the sort of person who really deserves/has earned one!

I would like to give an award for patience and stamina to my DiL to eldest son. She works at two jobs, from 8.00am to 11.00pm every single day, just taking two days a fortnight off to fly back to DS and two young GDs who have moved to Spain because DS hates this country. She works those hours to support the family as DS doesn't work, he has never found a job to stick at for more than a month, and not at all in Spain. In fact in a rare text message he said that he was not going to set foot in this country again, which means we won't see them unless he grants permission for us to visit, which hasn't been forthcoming so far. It really does hurt.

Rather than have her sleeping in a hostel, which we found she was doing, we give her a bed for the night three nights a week, but she is usually back too late and off too early for us to see her. The rest of her time she spends working in Ireland, because the pay is better, but the same incredible hours. I don't know how she keeps going!

Also to youngest son who after a really terrifying arrival of baby GS earlier this year, and despite his arthritis, has the patience of a saint coping with a very demanding baby to take the pressure off his wife who has ME.

So many beautiful, uplifting stories on here. They are very humbling.

I would like to give a big cheer for all the family members and friends, whose unquestioning support helped me to help my husband through his long, serious illness and many stays in hospital over the last year. My daughter, who has so many of her own problems to contend with was like the proverbial duck swimming calmly through the water, with legs paddling nineteen to the dozen below, to ensure that I was able to give DH 100%. Also I would like to give cheers to the people I scarcely knew whose small acts of kindness made such a disproportionately large impact.

And a cheer to my son and his son. When GS was finally diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, DS, who while always a thoughtful son, stepped up as a father in a way that took my breath away. Seeing the infinite loving patience and understanding with which he helps his son through his difficulties brings me almost to tears.

This is a lovely subject some amazing people who get on with things and ask for nothing in return these are the ones who should get recognised (although they wouldn't want to be ) instead of some of ones for being ""famous"" ?

Everyone in Britain at the moment.
We have been suffering under the old Chinese curse 'may you live in interesting times', which has made our proud and glorious nation one submerged in bitterness and anger.
We need cheer and positivity to lighten our lives.

I agree with Libman.
What wonderful uplifting stories from you all. I, too, am inordinately proud of my son, daughter, SIL and wonderful grandson just for being such amazing people really. They are loving kind thoughtful human beings and they are my world. I am a very fortunate lady

Oh BRADFORDLASS your son is a diamond.

First post (and I have been lurking on here for a long time) but just wanted to say what an uplifting thread this is. I hope it goes on for many pages. How lovely just to read about positive experiences. I know the bad stuff is still out there but sometimes we all just need a break!

What a totally lovely post. It's brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you to grannyactivist for starting it.

My 3 DIL. Not only did they take on my sons, but they have overcome health issues, given me grandchildren and held down responible jobs. Heroines!

I recently had the pleasure of being approached by a complete stranger who wanted to confirm that I was ????s Mum and then shook me warmly by the hand and told me that aforementioned son had saved his life. I got the details and found the whole story amazing and, of course, very moving. My son has never once mentioned this to me (and we are close) which is where my overwhelming pride comes in. If he doesn't want to divulge then I can quietly live with that but....my heart sings nonetheless.