MEscovery

Date Night. I remember when I used to get butterflies at the thought of going out on a date. Now, it's more likely that about twenty minutes before the babysitter is due I decide that maybe it's time to brush my hair, fix my make up and try to find something to wear.  Gone are the days of having a glass of wine whilst getting "glammed up". These days a cup of coffee to give me the energy to get out the door after 8pm is more appropriate.  I do still enjoy going out. Who wouldn't like to go out to eat food prepared for you by someone else, with no tidying up to do, no laundry baskets glaring at you from the corner of the room and actually being civilised enough to sit down at a table and have a conversation whilst eating said food? Unfortunately the talk usually centres around children, house plans and occasionally a trip down memory lane to when we were child free and care free. Which then takes us back to children talk. We're not at the ...

Which one describes your personality best? Introvert/Extrovert Calm/Energetic Creative/Organised Positive/Negative Fun/Boring Spontaneous/Structured What if you find you fit each and everyone one of them depending on the day/situation you are in? I find that I have such a dual personality, a mix (or mismatch) of characteristics and behaviours which are contradicting and yet complimentary to each other. I'm sure this is true for most people, we are of course not two dimensional, black and white creatures. It's like having pieces of different puzzles thrown together and trying to join them up. We're all just going to have to get creative with which of the pieces to feature depending on how we want our picture to look. At work, I try to feature the calm, organised, positive, structured puzzle pieces. At home I can be introvert, energetic, calm, creative, fun, spontaneous. It's a bit of a pick and mix. I think we all choose different versions of ourselves ...

The art of being content. It's something tricky that word. Content.  I can be happy. It's having a laugh with my children, doing something I enjoy, being with people I love. All those things are moments which make me happy. Smily, "oh what fun" kind of times. Think Pharrell's 24 hour Happy dance kind of times. And then I check Facebook, read an article, watch the news and something will take me back to the reality of life where there are things to want, people to compare yourself to, stuff to worry about.  When Christmas or birthdays come I struggle to think of things I want. Yet, in a second I can go from not needing anything to impulse buying something because I just have to have it. Not. Good. Marketeers dream. I would say in general all the boxes are ticked. Family, health, work, house, love. Tick, tick, tick. And yet... It's so easy to take that for granted and look "over the fence". Just checking that the grass isn't greene...

After having been back home for over a week we are settling nicely into a routine of late nights, lie ins and feasting. Life's been a party. But the inevitable is coming. Normality. I've always hated that Sunday feeling; waiting for Monday morning. It's the same feeling I get when a holiday gets near the end, the party is starting to slow down and everyone starts to think about what is next.  The thing is, I like what is "next", the normality. It's just that I am not great with finishing things. I think I mentioned that before. So the whole packing up, saying goodbye and falling back into the mundane routines is currently looming and hangs over my head a little like a pesky cloud not dark enough to rain, but to cast a shadow over my last few sunny days of holiday bliss.  Time to give myself a little talking to. It's been a great holiday, a great year. Time to start enjoying looking ahead. I'm no good with New Year's resolutions as I wou...