A lovely blogger very sweetly asked me in a comment recently: “Who is Goldfinch?”
Well…where do I begin?
I met Goldfinch in October 2017 and I warmed to him instantly. I wrote a post about the night I met him. It was the Saturday night when the clocks go back one hour. So I had an extra hour with Goldfinch. I will always think of him the night of the extra hour.
How I Used My Extra Hour Last Year
Goldfinch is a very wonderful man (although he does not like me to big him up too much) but he is very wonderful to me.
Caramel (Melody Finch) was feeling rather blue really, just over two years after she was the victim of a serious crime. Prior to that crime, she had a very stressful situation which mushroomed into some pretty intense bullying, for over two years. Caramel was finding interaction with men ever so challenging! One lovely friend tried wining and dining Caramel in the hopes she would warm to him. But it was not the right time. Then there was another man, who seemed nice at first but then turned out to be quite a letdown. Aaah sigh!
I was actually in the Midlands, miles from home, and yet again had been let down by this man. Then all of a sudden there was Goldfinch, he just happened to walk in. Caramel was quite bowled over by Goldfinch. He was gorgeous. She fell completely into his arms and felt so happy and safe and warm. Goldfinch brought deep smiles and happiness to Caramel. But Goldfinch was always reminding Caramel that he was going to fly home to Australia.
And so the day came. It was much later than expected. Originally we thought it might be March 2018 when he would go But it was December 2018 when he returned to Australia. Plenty of time for Caramel to fall more deeply in love. Goldfinch helped Caramel feel she could fly again and made her far less blue. Flying next to Goldfinch was exciting and yet I felt safe.
That is not the whole story…but I don’t think you want another long long post from me on a Monday morning do you? So to the lovely blogger who asked me “Who is Goldfinch?”, the answer is, he was, and he is, my dream lover. And I am flying all the way to Australia to see him soon!
So from there it started. Me being smitten with a man I knew was soon to leave to go back to Australia. I have written many posts about Goldfinch and the awareness that he was going, but that I was very much in love with him.
There are a number of bloggers who have been lovely and supportive all the way through my romantic drama, but if you see my references to Goldfinch and have no idea what I am talking about, these posts might give you a bit more of an idea (there are more posts about Goldfinch, but I think this is more than enough):
What’s Even Worse Than Man-Flu?
I Guess I Am Your Buttery Toasted Teacake
One Of My Pathetic Attempts To Be Romantic
Does Anyone Know Who Won And What The Score Was Last Night?
Understanding What He Meant By “Hedonist”
When Your Heart Is 10,100 Miles Away!
Sandwiched In Between A Wedding Reception And A Murder Mystery Weekend
Next To Me Where You Should Be
Someday, When I’m Awfully Low…
My Heart Just Did Something Like This
Could It Be Sweeter Than This?
When You Realize You Would Love To Grow Old With Someone
Think Of Me… Think Of Me Fondly
Can’t We Go Back To Page One And Do It All Over Again?
Doing Something You Don’t Really Want To Do
Things I Never Even Wanted Until I Met Goldfinch
Well – I have to admit I am rather surprised at myself. I did not think I would still be writing on WordPress. I hate looking at my statistics page – but it tells me there are over 700 posts! Very kindly, it doesn’t tell me if any of them are any good!
It is only because of the encouragement and support of so many other bloggers, with whom I love interacting, that I am still doing this a year after I started. Lots of thanks and lots of hugs owed to many!
My travel itinerary for my trip to Australia in June! In fact, I have been reading it over and over again, along with my travel insurance policy and my e-visitor notification (visa to enter Australia).
I have just had to google “Myers-Briggs” because I was not sure what it was. I have no idea. Looking at the descriptions…I think I might possibly be ESFJ or ESFP??? The description for both sound familiar. I do remember vaguely a friend getting me to answer a long list of questions, and after totting up the results, she told me I am an entertainer…crossed with something else?
It depends how young we are talking. When I was five I thought we would all grow up and be farmers and farmers wives. I didn’t see anything beyond that. In fact I still don’t understand the way of life that humans live today. If we all spread out a bit, rather than living in cramped cities, and were each assigned some land (there is plenty of land to go around) and worked on caring for that land and cultivating it…we would probably all be happier and healthier, wipe out pollution and threats to our climate, and see our planet looking like the paradise it is meant to be.
From the age of sixteen I have been devoted to unpaid volunteer work for various charities, local and international. Apart from the five years that I was a full-time international volunteer, the rest of the time I have worked on a part-time basis in various fields to earn my bread and butter. I expected to stay in full-time volunteer service for the rest of my life. What happened with Jack interfered with that.
I don’t often think about dying. But I have contemplated what would happen if I died. I have tried to make sure my family would not be mortified by it.
Firstly, I must point out that I believe life is an incredible gift and is immensely precious. I don’t take risks. I don’t engage in habits or practices that would harm my life. I would safeguard my life and show I appreciate it’s high value.
I accept the straightforward explanation of life and death in the scriptures. The first time I ever read the scriptures as a little girl, was after some close friends of our family had been killed in a car crash. I had many questions. I read the scriptures from cover to cover. I have re-read it at least twenty times since. One of my favourite parts was the end…the scene of a clean earth and a healed human family under the loving rulership of their Creator:
However, from the moment the first two humans rejected the guidance of their Creator, He made arrangements to undo the results of their decision. He arranged for their children to be quite literally rescued from those devastating consequences including death. He would allow time to settle the issue of rulership.
That provided the basis for something very wonderful. If you are not familiar with the scriptures, you may not have heard of how important the death of the Christ was to buy back what Adam lost – the chance for the human family to live forever in perfect health on this beautiful planet. That’s what Adam lost, and that is what Jesus won for the human family. Because that price was paid, there is a legal basis to give life back to those who were born bearing the consequences of the terrible decision made by their parents…in other words all humans born after that rebellion.
Did you know that the scriptures speak of two types of death? The vast majority of those who have died are very safe in the memory of the Creator. He is going to restore life to billions after His government has cleaned up this earth and rid it of corruption and cruelty. To illustrate how easy it will be for him to do this, time and time again the scriptures refer to death as sleep. It will be just as easy as waking someone up. You probably already know that the origin of the word “cemetery” is that of a sleeping place or dormitory, a place to lie down.
Can you imagine a parent finding out their child had committed a heinous crime, showing blatant disregard for what is right and causing great harm to others? How grieved they must be. How sad for the Creator to feel so grieved by what someone had done that he did not want to give them a second chance to live in a clean earth, free of corruption.
Most of us would have a degree of empathy with someone who had an abusive childhood and got involved in petty crime as an adult. We would probably recognize that deprived of the loving start a child should have, they may have struggled to develop good motives. But we would hope they could change with support. When our Creator looks at all of us, He sees that none of us have had a perfect start. How can we when we live in a world so out of harmony with what was intended for the human family? Even loving parents with the best of intentions might teach things that are not really true or in harmony with the way we were designed to live.
There are some momentous events ahead before those who have died will be woken up. Great changes ahead to make sure that all those resurrected are waking up to a clean earth and a happy peaceful human family. The best is yet to come! Tears of joy as the entire human family are restored to perfect life on this wonderful planet restored to paradise. Once the Creator’s original purpose for the earth is fulfilled – what next? Well, that is something we will have to wait and see…
Oh wow! How many people have been kind to me!! But the kindest of all – undoubtedly my parents!
I can’t thank them enough for all the lessons in life and giving us the best start in life.
But just for a few days, I would like to be allowed a few days with just one man, Goldfinch, just he and I, cut off from the demands of the world. Far away from turbulence and strife and divisions. The peace and tranquillity and seclusion of some idyllic little nugget somewhere, anywhere – just so long as he was with me.
I would like to take in a deep breath and fill my lungs with freedom and everlasting joy. I would like to lay down in the soft white sand, with a cool breeze refreshing me and feel utterly safe, unable to remember any of my worries and completely confidant that life is going to be better and brighter and more beautiful.
Have you ever been at a book store surrounded by attractive book covers, and then for some reason picked up a book that didn’t stand out amongst the rest. But as you read the summary on the back and the forward, something just drew you in. What is that something that captures your attention and stirs your appetite?
Why is that despite knowing plenty of physically attractive men who seem “nice” as far as I know them, one man can walk into a room and in a short time make a big enough impression to make me feel safer with him than anyone I have known for years? What is about all the interactions and communication between us that has left me beguiled and enchanted? Why is the time we have together never enough, but I am always left yearning for more?
Why is it that being in his arms, receiving his glances and kisses and touches feels pure, yet exquisite, while other men make me feel uncomfortable and defensive? Why does it feel as if we are performing a perfect harmony, while in reality we are only engaging in mundane actions? Eating together, walking together, sitting on the bus together. Yet it always feels thrilling.
I have been working on my SHARE-YOUR-WORLD post for this week. But I have decided to split it up into two posts because it was growing mighty long!
Melanie, the creator of 
I opened my wardrobe and saw too many wool sweaters and cardis, long sleeved tops, jersey dresses, and there was not a single pair of shorts!
But I have realized I need to finish off packing my winter clothes away (I made a start a few weeks ago). I have already pulled out my storage bags from under the bed and I found some beautiful dresses. I want to fill my wardrobe with floral prints and floaty fabrics.
I also need to sort out my sun-glasses. I broke two pairs last year. I have two other pairs, but where are they? I need to hunt for them because after being out in the sun I had terrible head pain.
Caramel 