March 12th always makes me feel weird. My phone very kindly reminded me of the significance of today, by sharing with me my very own selfie that I took on this day in 2019. I gazed at that picture this morning, looking at the woman, who at that point had no clue what was about to come crashing into her …
72 Hours
One word to describe the start of 2023. Brutal. Our Christmas was plagued by illness with me copping the worst of it. I was ill from Christmas Eve right through to New Years Day – delightful. Head into January and with 6 weeks to go until we were officially homeless, we finally find a house. A bittersweet reality as this …
Rebellious Heart
As I bid farewell to November, my lovely autumnal birthday month; I turn to December with excitement and nervousness. Our Christmas tree is up and fairy lights inside and out are aglow. As we mark our last Christmas in the home we became a family in, everything feels bittersweet. Right now I’m focusing very much on our Christmas together and …
Find a friend, lose the cactus
I have now completed the Discover Wellbeing course run by the amazing people at Retina UK. I opted for a supported journey so every week I would complete a module and then talk it through with a volunteer, who had been matched with me, to go through the material. It was a great and very therapeutic experience and after the …
Three Buses and a Prayer
You know when avoiding something becomes so exhausting you are almost forced to face it? Well that was me last month. In the bottom of my rather tatty handbag was a crumpled and barely legible leaflet, reminding me to go to the opticians. It had been stuffed there deep down, where only random wrappers and receipts sit for 18 months. …
Brave
These last few weeks have been a complete blur. My daughter’s school year has started with a bang and all her activities are definitely keeping me on my toes. This year, she is trying her hand at a few extra curricular clubs for the first time: French, singing and dance. These clubs, running alongside normal school days, trips and themed …
Hello September
Last week was a rude awakening. After six weeks of sleepy late mornings and late nights, the summer holidays are officially over. I loved every minute of it! The beach days, adventure playgrounds, play dates, sailing, animal feeding, wildlife parks, bowling, zip lines, swimming, fairgrounds and way too much ice cream; the summers when children are young are awesome! …
Two Dinners and a Text Message
Like a stone cast into a river, we are thrown into socialising as a child. The still waters of our home life are replaced by the expanding ripples of friends and classmates. These circles keep expanding, closer bonds are formed and life continues on this trajectory into adulthood. Relationships change and evolve. More friends are added as the workplace or …
5 Stages
Last week was my penultimate counselling session. I have had 10 sessions in total and when my counsellor shows up, she’s actually a great listener. She also sends me informative sheets to read, containing practical exercises for me to work on between appointments. Referred to her only for CBT to tackle health anxiety, it’s been a strange experience. My …
Birthday Party
My beautiful daughter turned 6 years old last month. After much deliberation, the hubby and I decided that this was the year we were going to throw her a party. Not an intimate gathering at the house, with a select few, huddled round sandwiches and jammie dodgers but a real party. Venue, catering, the whole ball of wax! Our girl …