I’ve been procrastinating about this post for a while (yeah, I know, I do that a lot!). When I started this blog I was in a pretty good place, loving life with two small children and excited about the future, and when Mellow Mummy tagged me in this meme I thought it’d be fun. Unfortunately I put it off too long, and I’ve really struggled the last couple of weeks. Nothing particular, just on a down swing of one of my usual ups and downs. I’m not going to say anything as cliched as ‘I’ve always battled with depression’ as I don’t believe I have ever battled with it. I’ve just always accepted that it’s part of me. Usually I’ve dealt with a down swing by leaving something (a man, a job…occasionally the country!). Well, I’m not about to leave Hubby, I don’t have a real job (technically I’m self employed, but in a very definite work avoidance stage!), and leaving the country spontaneously isn’t practical with two little ones and a husband who never stops working. So I’m a bit stuck and have spent a fair few days having meltdowns lately.
Not the most obvious time to sit down and blog about happy things…
But I do love a challenge, so I’m going to give it a go! I may adjust some of them from things that make me happy to times I have been happy…but we’ll see how it goes. It’s my first meme, so I’ll just do my best.
Are you ready? You probably need cheering up after that first paragraph, eh?!
- I’ll start with the obvious – Twink and Squishy. My little boy is such a caring, loving, happy little boy, that I can’t be sad around him for long. Squishy might be small, but she is such a talkative, giggly little girl. Already she loves nothing more than having a long chat with her mum.
- My Husband. I am so unbelievably lucky to have someone who can put up with all my madness, and on top of that, I am extremely proud of everything he’s achieved. Less than three years ago he was working 9 to 5 for a bank. Now he runs his own company in a completely unrelated field which he has taught himself. He’s brilliant. And he makes me tea and flapjacks, even when I’ve been miserable all day.
- Driving in my car (a little too fast) with the radio turned high. Not something I can do that often with the children, but on sunny days like today, I do turn the radio on a little louder than usual and put my foot down a bit
Today Twink & I were bopping along to Garbage and racing a Bentley…never fails to make me smile! - An old one now – the last car that was mine all mine (we currently share) was a Toyota MR2 Roadster. As I opened the garage each morning and saw it sitting there I had such a big grin on my face, even after three years! That car was one of the first things Hubby & I did together – we’d been seeing each other for 3 weeks when we got a bit bored and I confessed my love of roadsters. We were working in the motor trade & Hubby was in sales, so he found me one! Silver with red leather. At the slightest hint of sunshine, no matter how cold, I would throw the roof down. Somehow I still managed to drive it at 38 weeks pregnant with Twink (getting in was accomplished by falling in backwards) which is when I admitted defeat and sold it. I miss it every time the sun shines.
- Going out without the children. Or doing anything without them actually! That sounds awful I know, but I do have a fantastic babysitter (their second mum), and what I really mean is that feeling of doing something a bit naughty. Like when you were a teenager and your parents went out leaving you with the house to yourself. Sure, maybe all you did was stay up late watching scary films and listening to all the music they didn’t approve of, but you were getting away with something. Hubby & I now get that feeling when we do anything without the children. We miss them…we talk about them…but that sneaking around behind their backs feeling is kinda good!
- Making things. There is something really satisfying about finishing something crafty. You really feel like you’ve achieved something when you’ve made something practical like a pair of trousers for Twink or a mei tai for carrying Squishy…need to get something finished soon…might help cheer me up!
- The smell of chamomile tea. We drank tonnes of the stuff when we were on our honeymoon in the Maldives. It was an absolutely amazing, fantastic holiday, with lots of time spent in the spa, eating fantastic food, lying on the beach, drinking cosmopolitans…and the smell of chamomile tea brings it all back (as does the smell of cosmopolitans, but that makes me sound like an alcoholic!).
- My wedding photos. My wedding day was amazing. I had the dress of my dreams, the sparkliest Jimmy Choos hidden underneath it, and all I did from the moment the ceremony was over was smile and kiss my new husband. Looking at the photos reminds me of all those little moments that made the whole day so memorable.
- Nice wine. Even better if it’s accompanied by some fantastic michelin starred food!
- Going to the spa with my best friend. Lots of chats in the sauna and hydrotherapy pool, a facial or a massage, a nice meal, and a glass of wine. What’s not to love?
Right, now for the bit that I’m really not sure about…tagging other people. Not sure of the protocol here, so please forgive me if I screw up. First off I’ll tag Skip at Skippedydoodah as she’s lovely and if I’ve done this the wrong way, she probably won’t aim any missiles at my head. Secondly I’ll tag The Heartful Blogger just because she recently drew a beautiful lotus and I wish I could draw anything more complicated than a stick man.
Ah cheers baby cakes – I needed a kick up the arse to blog again – been on a haitus recently!
Loving the sneakiness of doing stuff without kids too – and though we swear we’ll try to manage one evening without talking baout them, that’s usually what we do the whole time!