2022 “Happy New Year” – I can say that since we’re still in January – I’m wishing you all the best year ever and I really hope it brings you all your heart desires.
The decorations have been packed away, the snowman is back in his box and the quality street have all been eaten, now it’s back to reality! I hope and pray that this year will be a good one for us all and that we’ll finally get our lives back! There has to be an end in sight surely (I am sick of saying that!)
Well, my empty nest was back in use over the festive period, my youngest and her fiancé were here for Christmas, they made it this year thankfully and we didn’t have to stream them live on the TV! We still had to be careful because of the situation but it was just nice to have them with us. Then my oldest and my granddaughter were here for New Year’s Eve! Obviously, none of us made it to midnight, not when you have a little one that wakes at 6/6.30am! Memories of years gone by! And then once again, before you know it, it’s an empty nest once more. It’s boomeranging back into action!!
It’s a completely different scenario though when your children come to stay as adults as opposed to when they live with you, you want to try and enjoy every single minute of the time they are there, whilst not appearing to suffocate them, overfeed them or fuss too much! Sometimes difficult to get the balance just right.
Then it’s all change, bedding, quilts, towels etc., put toys back in place – relieved that I didn’t open a B&B at this point, believe it or not it was a thought a while ago! If your kids are still at home, enjoy it, not always easy I know but one day their rooms will be empty, and your house will be quiet. To my younger readers, and there are some, make time to be with your little ones as in the blink of an eye they will have grown and flown the nest. Don’t worry about the mess, the pile of washing or ironing, just enjoy your time with them, the laundry will still be there and in my experience the ironing pile never goes down until there are just the two of you!
Don’t get me wrong, as I’ve said before, there are definite advantages to the empty nest, once you adjust to it, but in actual fact those precious times with young children, whilst tiring and often quite demanding, are the best. They grow up so fast and you look back and wonder where did that time go? If I had a time machine that’s where I’d go back to, the time when my girls were small, to play with them and cuddle them close, I do get a glimpse of that time every time I hug my grand-daughter, however that has to be when she feels like it, life on her terms and I hope she continues to live her life like that, on her own terms, it’s something I will be encouraging.
I really don’t like January, the lost month I like to call it, it’s just such an anti-climax. It’s always a bit of a dull month for me, following on from Christmas, how can it compete really? Having my birthday in November and then Christmas I always find it such a low. With very few exceptions, January has always been miserable, it’s everything from removing the Christmas decorations to the weather. This year I should have gone to London, that would have certainly perked up my January, but Covid put paid to that! I wallowed for a few days but then I thought come on now it’s time to put on your big girl pants and get over it. Not always easy I know, and especially because I should have been seeing Donny and as you all know by now (if you don’t where have you been?) that would have made it a fabulous January, but I must follow my own advice and not unpack and stay wallowing! So unable to do much socialising, again thanks to covid, I’ve had to think of other things to lift me out of this mood, so I started off with this -
Self-care Saturday - some time away from social media and the news - it’s just too depressing
Relaxed and had a face mask
Read a book
Took a hot shower and washed my hair, I had a lovely shower gel for Christmas so that helped.
Made one of my favourite comfort meals - sausage & mash, well when I say made I supervised Steve!
Other things that can help, I appreciate that not everything is for everyone
Meditation – helps reduce stress, restore health, and boosts serotonin, the ‘happy chemical’ – lots of meditations online.
Sleep (not too much though)
Make a vision board with things you want to do/achieve this year
Plan something special for yourself or with your partner or friends, I have in mind a special meal once the covid numbers are down.
Write a letter – an old-fashioned thing I know but I do still know people who aren’t on social media of any sort, what a notion!
Have a declutter – always makes me feel better and then I donate most of it
Donate to charity - not necessarily money it could be unused items or clothes
Start a gratitude journal (you can use any notebook or find gratitude journals, they are everywhere these days, but I do find they work) if you don’t want to write anything down just start the day with 3 thoughts of what you are grateful for, it will start to shift your mindset, just start with small things, grateful for a good night’s sleep, grateful for a new day, grateful for your home, your kids, your friends, etc., basics even a roof over your head, food on the table, someone who loves you.
There’s always, always something to be grateful for and this year I do have so much to look forward to, a new grandchild and a family wedding, exciting times and busy too, so I’ll just see January as a recharging month instead, reframe the narrative, something I’ve been learning to do.
So how have you all been coping with the ‘January Blues?’ – Blue Monday 17th January has just passed and as we are well passed halfway now it doesn’t seem so bad. I spent blue Monday at a hospital appointment, so I actually didn’t realise it was supposed to be blue until I got home! By which time the day was nearly over. It was a gloomy start to the year in the news, especially for women, but as the days go on there are a few better things entering the news stream I regularly see, locally anyway, and this cheered me up no end, something for all women to be proud of, hard work really pays off.
A new President of the European Parliament has been elected and she is Roberta Metsola, from Malta, absolutely thrilled with this news, all politics aside this is fantastic news for all women. This is what she says, and I quote:
“I am a woman from a small island in the middle of Europe’s southern sea. I know what it is like to be the underdog, to be pigeonholed. But I also know how important this is for the people beyond this chamber. I know what this means for every girl watching today; for everyone who dares and who ever dared to dream.”
Roberta Metsola,
President, European Parliament
On a final note, I know it's something I reiterate but self care is so essential, take care of yourselves be gentle with yourself and kind to others, we’ve all been through a rough couple of years, cut yourselves some slack and just breathe, try and go with the flow more (note to self!)
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