Reminiscing 'Bout The Time

Firstly I must apologise for using a Blazing Squad song lyric as my title. Believe me I know it's sad but whenever I hear the word 'Reminiscing' that song pops in my head!
For my younger readers (if I have any) Blazing Squad were a 10 boy rap 'gang' in the early 00's who supposedly had a few top ten hits like 'Crossroads' which was just about them meeting some girl at a crossroads but never going anywhere! Weird.
I also went to see them once (by accident I hasten to add) a club in Bolton used to hold an under 18's night and one night my friends and I decided to go as Busted were playing there and that was literally the highlight of our year. It turned out Blazing Squad were also there and they were pants!!

Anyway I digress. Recently I went to see my best friends in Cambridge & London (hence me writing on the train last week) and we had so much fun! It's so good to see them again as I haven't seen them in about 2 years. We always talk about the past when we get together and remember what has happened in the past that has made us nearly pee ourselves laughing.

In Year 11 (5th year for you old buggers), we went on a school trip to the Somme. Now some of you may know that I went to the Somme nearly every year with my parents. My Dad was really into WW history and my sisters and I spent many a holiday looking for soldiers graves so my Dad could research them for the Lancashire Fusiliers. At the time it was so annoying but I genuinely loved those holidays! So this trip with school was a good opportunity to go back to my childhood. It was the funniest holiday I have ever had with my friends. There was a group of about 15 (?) year 11 students and on the way down to get the Eurostar we were up at 3AM singing The Darkness' I Believe In A Thing Called Love. Bet our teachers loved us! Also my best mate Phil got his head stuck in between 2 coach seats (still the funniest moment of my life ever) and no-one helped him for about 10 minutes as we were too busy laughing and taking pictures. Then me and friend Rach pretended to be penguins for the majority of the trip and just bobbed around a lot. Don't get me wrong we did actually learn about the Somme and there were moments when we were serious but send a load of 5th years away together 3 months before they're due to leave high school and they will have fun!

The next trip  was with my best friend Ruth when we were in College and went to Disneyland Paris as mentors to the young'uns. We were adults! We were allowed to basically do what we wanted, it was amazing but we did have some very small responsibilities. At the time, I really fancied a guy from college that I barely knew and I remember we were talking about it on the way back to our hotel one night, I can't remember the conversation but I remember I had to stop a few times as I needed the loo and Ruth was making me laugh so much! That holiday was a really nice girly week away and I had so much fun with Ruth. Just remembered her Dad (who was our deputy head and came away with us) rang our room one morning, Ruth was in the bathroom and I picked up the phone. Now Ruth and I do sound very similar and this deep voice said "Hello Darling, I'll meet you in the reception with Gina in 10 minutes" I was mortified when I had to explain I wasn't his daughter!

Anyway what I'm trying to get across in this week's blog is that always make time for your friends and family and make new memories with them as well as thinking about the old ones. I promised my 2 mates I wouldn't leave it 2 years again to see them, it will probably be less than 2 months but at least I know they'll always be there for me, getting me drunk and making me walk round London for 9 hours (Phil). I'm really glad I have my old memories with them but there's always room to make more!

Falling in and out of love

There's  no stranger feeling than being in love. It can make you feel like you're floating on air (when everything is going well) or it can make you feel like absolute crap. My dad always said the man that was worth my tears wouldn't make me cry. Sorry daddy but men can't help but make us women cry. It's in their DNA or something.

My Dad was full of little words of wisdom and always knew what to say in a crisis especially if there was a bloke involved. I could ring him up and he'd just know what to say to make his little girl feel better. I'm the youngest of 4 girls and I'm still a proper daddy's girl even though he passed away 4 years ago.

Anyway I was talking about love, my father problems are another blog altogether!
Love is a many splendid thing (or so the famous song would have us believe). I fell in love at the tender age of 17, my boyfriend (as he was then) was funny, caring, handsome everything a girl could want in a man. He is older than me by about 6 years but age is a number right? He was perfect, my parents approved, my family approved (at the time) and my life was complete.

Fast forward a couple of years, I'm living in my own flat (my parents had abandoned their youngest child and her life of being a layabout student to move to France. I had to get a job!!!) I'm still with this bloke, happy and in love. We became engaged, bought a house and got married (how very grown up) by the time we got married I was 23, he was 29. Now here's where I should say that we lived happily ever after and had a bunch of children and we're going to grow old together....sorry kids sometimes life is crap and doesn't work out like you planned.

One day not too long ago I woke up with the dawning realisation I might not be in love with my husband anymore. What do you do in that situation? There is no manual for women on how to cope when you're no longer in love and your marriage falls apart 16 months after the happiest day of your life. I wish there was...I might write one. Its an impossible situation to be in, I wanted to make it work without letting him know I was having doubts about our marriage. Anyway we argued constantly for about a month, I wanted to go out on a weekend and he wanted to stay in....all day. We didn't have much money but what we did could have stretched to a day out somewhere. So we argue about everything and one day I scream at him that I don't love him (not the nicest thing I've ever done) and I want to leave. Instead of acting like the adults we are and talking, we ignored the problem and tried to get on. This lasted another month (more arguments) until eventually one day I left (I can't go into details but it involved someone else)

2 months later I'm here. In a house share at 24, going through a divorce, wondering where my life went wrong. My family and friends have been amazing. my ex has been amazing and we're trying to be friends. Don't get me wrong my life is in no way easier now I'm single but I'm happier and finally after 8 years realising who I am.

So boys and girls if you're in love I hope it lasts forever for you but don't think it's your fault if it doesn't. Life moves on, people change, grow, evolve and sometimes your partner doesn't grow with you. It sucks but it makes you stronger, believe me.

The Beginning

So I've decided to start writing a blog, I've always wanted to and now seems like a pretty good time to start as I have loads of free time on my hands!

A little introduction I'm Gina Meehan, 24 (nearly 25) living in a house share in a small town called Manchester! I'm currently going through the most stressful period in my life but more on that later.

This blog will be about my general life but also will give people a little bit of advice on how to cope in the weird situations you might find yourself in (as I regularly do). My friends say my life is like Hollyoaks but without the murder, and ridiculously small clothes in the depths of Winter.

So let's crack on!!