Happy Monday!

Well, in true to form, the last couple of months of 2023 flattened me….

So here are the headlines.

Christelle’s dad died at the beginning of November, which meant at short notice, she and Mike had to go to France, which meant I had to go to Woking and look after the dogs. Gabi and Baylen are lovely dogs, but they are French boxers and the crazy is built in.

I was really glad that I could help my friends when they needed help but 4 days in someone else’s house was hugely discombobulating for me, so there was that.

The rest of my life has just been hard to cope with. Look, I know there are people out there with a heap of responsibility and work and just life and I’m aware that as a single person with responsibility only to myself (and my family, job, allotment and flat), I know I don’t carry the same burden of responsibility as others. However, it’s not a competition. I have responsibilities that other people don’t and I’m allowed to find things hard. I have found the last couple of months tricky, it’s partly working out how to work in a new role and balance all of my responsibilities in all of my working life, it’s partly hormones, it’s partly SAD, it’s partly the absolute mess the world is in right now and it’s a whole heap of other stuff about being 50 that I don’t even have proper words for at the moment. This is why I do therapy.

All of that to say, I put blog down for a bit because I needed more room to stress about the stuff that matters in my life. My work, my family, my friends, trying to get enough sleep…the good stuff.

But there was other great stuff, Ma hit 75, we went to lunch and my friend Christina was having her second baby that very day! There was Grace and work events (one of which was wreath making) there was dinner with friends, seeing new houses, parties, Christmas….and a large and beautiful tree.

It was all fine, but it’s been exhausting. I heard something the other day, we survive because of our resilience, in 2023, I’ve used my resilience. This year, I’m going into 2024, not having to rebuild my entire life. I used my resilience and here I am ready to start again. All of that is good.

So plans for this week, well office, it’s the last week of January so I need to get myself prepped for end of the month reporting and just catch up. There is weeding on the plot to do, marmalade to make, and all sorts of good things.

Have a good week!