getting my skates on to live life to the full

I may be avoiding making World Book Day costumes by posting my Reasons to be Cheerful instead. You may think that but I couldn’t possibly comment.

1. I have had coped fine since my husband left at the weekend. He is keeping in touch regularly. I am taking a firm line with the children on things like bedtimes and X Box access. In a funny sort of way, being on my own makes this easier. I also think the time to myself to think and work out what I want out of life is doing me the power of good. The children are trying their best to be extra helpful too. In return, I am trying to work up that mountain to more yummy mummy in terms of reading more stories to them on a night and as I said, making home-made World Book Day costumes instead of heading to the supermarket for them.

2. My youngest son made me smile today when he complained about the competitions on programmes like Daybreak not having proper and testing questions. He is like me and not at all a fan of things that don’t test him.

3. My oldest son is doing errands for me when I need him to do with good grace. I am getting lots of extra hugs in case I am missing Dad too much.

4. My daughter seems to be getting achievement awards every week from school so that I can hardly keep up. She did some amazing work on pirates recently. She also sent an email to her Dad which was so funny and made her feelings quite clear about his former employer!

5. I am reading more. I started “Baggage” by Janet Street-Porter last night. It is the story of her childhood and you can see already how she is very much her parents’ daughter which she would probably hate considering what she has to say about them on telly.

6. I have started a healthy eating pattern which is way overdue.

7. My husband has viewed some houses. We have not found the right place yet but are feeling more confident that we will.

8. The kittens are thriving and getting very sibling like having the occasional bash each other session. Very soon, they will be ready for advertising and on the lookout for new homes.

9. This week, I had a day where the patio doors were open so I reckon Spring is most definitely on its way.

Have yourself an amazingly happy week!

Lent starts today and amazingly there was some coverage on programmes like Daybreak.

I listened to a priest effectively telling us that it is not about giving up chocolate but about facing our own mortality. To be honest, since I lost my parents I am all too aware that life is much shorter than I ever worked out before.

Ash Wednesday – Mum would go to church and then onto bingo always convinced the ashes on her forehead added to her good luck. Being her, it usually did. Faith moves mountains and bingo balls it seemed.

Yesterday, I had a really awful dizzy spell on the afternoon school run. It felt like I was going to pass out and I had no confidence in making the 5 minute journey home. The children were wonderful stroking me as we went along and then my teenager wrapping me up in a duvet and blankets when I got back home.

Today, my leg felt like it was letting me down.

Sometimes we need any excuse or reason to get back to healthy eating.

I am an emotional over-eater and recent months have seen me engaging in self-destructive eating patterns. There have been a lot of visits to town for bags of chips and Cornish pasties and pastries.

It is Lent.

My health is a bit hit and miss.

It is time to take action.

So I am wobbling my way back this Wednesday.

I have eaten a lot today but all healthy stuff – porridge, eggs, cereal. I intend to have a vegetable stir-fry tonight.

The children are having baked potatoes with tuna and beans on the side.

I have stocked up via internet shopping on a lot of vegetables and fruits.

Wish me luck not for the bingo but for wobbling my way back to health and fitness.

I don’t wake to the sound of you in the shower.

There is no cup of coffee delivered to the side of my bed.

There are no sneaky brunches or lunches.

I have to cook my own meals

Egg butties and steak dinners are non-existent

And the precursor to egg butties is also absent without leave

If I want to have a rant, there is nobody to listen

Passionate ideas also go unheard

Nobody laughs out loud at my witticisms

Loading the dishwasher in haphazard fashion does not work

Who knew that I would miss anal? (Keep it clean people)

I wake in the night and I can’t snuggle up close

As you can see, I ain’t missing you at all!

Well maybe a little bit.

What do children learn from going on holiday? That’s the question BritMums pose in their #Wales4Kids exciting linky challenge for bloggers with the chance to win an luxury holiday.

My children have visited most areas of England. We have also had stays in Scotland and Wales. I love how both give you that sense of going to another country without the language barriers and financial outlay sometimes linked to holidays overseas.

We have holidays in both North and South Wales. I love the Gower Peninsula and those amazing beaches. Both Cardiff and Swansea are two of our favourite cities. Castles, dinosaur parks, mountains and more – what’s not to love.

To discover more you can follow @visitwales on Twitter or Visit Wales on Facebook.

Ireland is next on our list so that my children can find out about their roots.

One of the things I remember learning from my Dad is how to read maps and navigate a journey. I try to share this with mine although the younger two are more keen on doing impressions of the satnav – a sign of the times if ever there was one!

I love the simple pleasures that the children have on holiday such as sand-castle building. My daughter in particular loves this activity. The boys prefer skimming stones into the sea.

I like to encourage them to try new foods too particularly if they are associated with the area we are visiting.

Holidays are the best for making memories which is what I believe life is all about.

So my husband remembers fondly walking the Malvern Hills with my now teenager when he was tiny.

I remember how having visited steam railways, my son had the best grasp of all things trains from a very early age and hated people calling them “choo-choos”

A quick brainstorm with the family about experiences on holiday resulted in these memories.

* Learning to swim in Malta
* Trying new foods in Spain and France
* Climbing mountains (small ones!)
* Painting a plate at a pottery cafe
* Riding a steam train through North Yorkshire with Uncle M.
* Riding my first rollercoaster
* Stroking a stingray
* Being bitten by a donkey and pecked by an ostrich
* Learning to join in with other adults and children
* Playing crazy golf

Well what are you waiting for? I am not eligible to win as I am part of the BritMums team but you might and you have got to be in it to win it.

He was exhausted.

A long lonely journey over and another starting.

The room was uninspiring.

With a heavy heart he forced himself to go outside for a smoke.

Lorries everywhere – a dark, depressing place with not a friendly soul in sight.

Cold and that sort of rain that wets you loads whilst appearing to be a light drizzle. He pulled his collar up against the elements.

What was that?

A movement at a distance.

A cat? A dog?

Bigger perhaps.

My goodness, a fox.

The animal turned as he recognised what it was. It came up close and sat down staring at the man.

Without knowing what he was doing the man called it as if it was a pet.

The fox did not move but continued to view the man intently.

It gave the man comfort.

There were obstacles ahead but he would overcome them.

Something about the fox gave him faith.

For this week’s Groovy Mums post, I am delighted to announce that I am teaming up with the rather wonderful Pippa from Story of Mum for a Twitter chat on Wednesday 12th March from 8.30 to 10pm.

I want to see you there if you identify with Groovy Mums at all or have any intention of moving your life forwards positively.

We will be using the #somum and #groovymums hashtags during the party so do keep an eye out for them.

We have a very exciting theme of Mum Trumps – it’s the ultimate Twitter party game for mums.

We will be talking about special abilities, skills and also the things we find a little daunting.

So join us for the Twitter Mums Trumps party. You really can’t top that!

As for me, I am adapting to life without the husband on the scene for a little while. I intend to use the time I would spend with him to look really hard at what needs to change in my life and then taking baby steps towards a fresh start.

I was delighted to see several Groovy Mums attempting poetry last week. Such talent and a willingness to have a go!

For the uninitiated, here is an explanation of Groovy Mums and what you can get out of it.

If you are moving ahead positively and proactively in your life in ways tiny or huge, please do blog about it and link up below.

I should not write this post.

I should be nice, calm and accepting.

The reality is that my heart is breaking because my best friend and husband left today.

He is starting a new life far away from us because that is the only hope we have.

He starts work tomorrow morning and has only just secured a bed for the night which is of course far from ideal.

My children say …

“Are you missing Daddy?”

“I will be as good as I can be whilst Daddy is away”

“We will get through this together”

Tomorrow we will get up and do the school run. Daddy will not come home tomorrow night. We do not know when we will see him again.

I just spoke to him on the telephone and I sobbed. I cried myself to sleep last night and tears are in the building right now.

He told me not get upset or he will and he can’t afford to do that because he has to start a new job in the morning.

Meanwhile we hear fromm his lovely ex-employer the Royal British Legion that welfare cases now take at least 8 weeks, much longer than they did when my husband was a County Welfare Officer for them for 7 long and loyal years. Yet they deemed him not good enough and put him on the scrap heap.

And I continue to say, shame on them!

I miss my husband. The children miss their Daddy.

So much for the claim that the Royal British Legion stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have served.

Oops, I did it again!

Angry, tearful and wondering what comes next.

The amazingly talented writer and woman that is Anna over at Adventures of an Ageing Matron has tagged me in this little bit of fun. Having looked at the questions posed, it may not be such fun but here goes nothing.

When you look in the mirror what do you see?

An unkempt and overweight woman in frumpy clothing. Particular things that make me want to hide include my stomach area and my teeth neglected during the post-natal depression period. On the positive side, I have a good skin and I like my brown eyes.

If you could choose one motto/mantra to live by what would it be?

Make memories – they are the only things that last.

Which era would you command a time capsule to transport you to?

Either the Twenties as would love to do the Charleston in one of those flapper dresses. Also the Fifties when rock and roll was new, when women had a clearer idea of what was expected of them and when you could wear that New Look with the cinched in waist and huge skirts.

What was your childhood ambition and have you fulfilled it?

I wanted to be a barrister partly because I liked Crown Court on the telly and partly because my Dad had worked with lawyers as a policeman and in his insurance career. I liked the magenta ribbons on court files and quite fancied myself in a wig and gown. I particularly liked the idea of standing up and spouting and everyone having to listen to me. I saw myself as a Defence barrister preventing miscarriages of justice.

I did study Law at Cambridge University (my finest hour perhaps). I went to Law School but by then I knew that I had no interest in making the rich richer which seemed to be what most lawyers were about. Also, my Dad said I would need a private income to pursue such a career and as I thought my prospects in the sex industry were limited and the family silver has being filched years ago by my older brother, I decided to fight for fairness in the charity sector.

If the world were to end tomorrow where would you want to be and what would be on your apocalypse menu?

I may well be back in Cambridge as the love affair with the city has never ended. If overseas, it would be on a balcony in the Pyrenees or in the mountains of the Auvergne.

I like so much food so it is difficult to choose.

Breakfast – scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with Buck’s Fizz

Lunch – a prawn mayonnaise baguette and a crisp white wine

Afternoon tea – the works with cucumber sarnies and scones with home-made jam and clotted cream

Dinner – scallops, lamb and raspberries. Drinks might include rum and Cointreau on the rocks.

Cocktails – of course!

When did you last change your sheets?

There is nothing more likely to make me change them than knowing I have to blog about it.

Now I have to set 11 questions and tag 11 bloggers

1. Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?

2. Housework – love or loathe?

3. What item would you love to find for a £1 in the charity shop?

4. Who inspires you?

5. What song or piece of music cheers you up?

6. Which country would you most like to visit?

7. What makes you a good enough mum?

8. What is the best advice you ever received?

9. What would make you give up blogging?

10. Which celebrity do you wish could disappear from our television screens?

11. You have a magic lamp with 3 wishes that can come true. What are those wishes?

Tagging @AutismMumma @CupcakeMumma @Dragonsflypoppy @knackeredhwife @GertieandGinger @Glasgow_Mummy @Redpeffer @KimberleyJTyler @goriami @Usthreebythesea @VicWelton

The word came to me on the walk back from school. I see blossom and daffodils coming into bloom.

There is new life about. It is time to Spring into action.

After months of nothing but the bleak, our fortunes are turning.

There is a new job and a new place to discover for my husband initially and then the whole family at some point.

It will be a new life.

It took the support of lovely family members real and honorary to get us to this point. They needed to nurture us when we could not do that for ourselves. Online friends kept saying it would be OK when we feared the situation was terminal.

So my word of the week is REVIVAL.

Sharing the wonderful Eurythmics singing about just that – guaranteed to lift your mood.

Linking up with Word of the Week