The recent weekend saw my irritability hang around me like the clouds and the incessant rain we’ve been having. Couldn’t shake it. Except for when I ventured outside. A bit of weak Spring sun broke through the grey for a while, and the wind blew the growing green grass in the field. The dog was…
Bluebells and celandine
First day of Spring, and there were bluebells by the side of the road today. They reminded me of someone who died too soon, and then led me to think of the unnattained dreams of my own heart and how short is our time here. But in spite of my melancholic thoughts, it was good…
Comfort
We have needed comfort in our house lately, with long bouts of illness and fatigue getting the better of us for weeks. For the children, that means pyjama days, hot water bottles and chocolate. For me, it’s comfort reads and comfort foods, naps on the sofa whenever possible and plenty of fresh air. Four Comfort…
12 Great Books
I’ve been doing my customary look back over the books I’ve read this year, and wow, what a lot of novels I’ve consumed in 2023! Fiction still offers so much comfort and enjoyment. Curled up with a good story is still one of my favourite places to be. And the stories I’ve read this year,…
Christmas Reflections
For us and our children, Christmas is complicated. It stirs up deep emotions about family and past traumas, about love and pain. For our children, these deep, complicated emotions tend to show themselves as huge behaviours, which seem at odds with the supposed sweetness of the season. For my husband and I, it adds an…
It’s the Small Things
“It’s the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay…small acts of kindness and love”, says Gandalf in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Whatever our privileges, our lacks and losses, our talents and our flaws, we all experience darkness in our lives sometimes. This summer, as I look at other people’s social media…
Small Things
A few notes on the small things I’m thankful for this week: *Spotting: Butterflies and Moths In a week when the cool, rainy weather took its toll, and the children and I grew fractious through lack of routine, the few sunny spells were brimming with butterflies. In our garden, we saw peacocks, painted ladies, red…
After the Rain
It rained a little this evening, that gorgeous, soft, summer rain. And afterwards, the air was fresh and the plants and birds were that bit more alive and my own tired body felt brighter, the skin on my face fresher, the smile about my mouth easier. There are always the hot, hard work days, and…
Small Things
I’m a collector, really. I like to look around me and gather close the little moments. I find snippets of life and colour and hold them to my chest for all they are worth, and thank the Lord that there is still goodness in this world. Things like the smile of my baby niece, and…
When
When you’re tired, the kind of tired that others simply won’t understand unless they’ve been in your shoes, there’s one thing that can drag you along, body and soul. When you’re dissatisfied, or wondering if what you have is enough or what you’ve done is enough or who you are is enough, the same one…
Happy World Poetry Day!
Poetry has become just my favourite. It’s my favourite to read, and my favourite to write, too. Here’s one I wrote about my children: Tattoo If I were to get a tattoo It would have your names As if I could prove By etching them into my skin That there’s nothing I wouldn’t do For…
Collecting Colour
Sometimes, we need a good dose of colour, and this Spring, I’ve been collecting it. It feels like no coincidence that at this time of year, after months of cold, grey weather, nature produces all these little bursts of brightness. We’re not through the cold and dark yet, not really, but early Spring offers us…
Life Lived 