MEscovery

The news. It should be renamed. It's not just informing you about what is going on in the world. It takes the latest occurrences, filters out the uplifting (unimportant?) stuff and slaps the rest of it in your face. Day. Ruined. I've limited myself to the news app on my phone in the morning and evening. And the radio news in the car. That's as much as I can take. Does that make me ignorant? Probably. Do I not care about what goes on in the world? Very much so. Too much probably. It haunts me. Little news snippets. 10 years on. I can still visualise certain news reports. Pictures shown. I don't just watch it and consider myself informed. It soaks into me and goes with me for the day, for life. I should probably learn to separate emotion from the news, but how can you not be devastated and disheartened by so much of the stuff that makes the headlines? It's a trade off between feeling well-informed and depressed. The older I get, the more I have gone into self p

It's what all parents are thinking about and talking about. Some have even been dreaming about it since the start of the summer. The kids are starting school again this week.  With it comes the exhilaration at your new found freedom or the sad feeling that the summer together has gone all too soon. And that we will miss not only the sun but the time spent together.  Kids will be lining up to join their old friends again or standing around looking for a familiar friendly face in an overwhelming sea of people. As a parent you always hope that your child will be equipped with the strength and self confidence to deal with any feelings of loneliness or fear. There is no greater gut wrenching moment than when you fear your child is the one feeling like the odd one out or "Billy no mates".  My child is lucky to have had many friends in her class in the last few years.  This year she will be starting a new class, with barely a close friend in it. Not as bad as starting afresh in