Gail Anthea Brown

All good things must come to an end as the saying goes… And so it is that our seven weeks of school holidays have finally disappeared. Who knew that fifty days could pass so quickly?

(I can multiply, by the way – we just got a cheeky extra day 😉 ).

2018 has definitely been the summer of balmy evenings, bare feet, scraped knees and dirty fingernails. All of these things mean that a wonderful summer has been had. I can’t quite believe that my boys (who are decidedly medium sized these days), will be heading back to school tomorrow. Just like that we’ll be back to the routine of early starts, packed lunches, meal plans and after school clubs. This has definitely been my favourite summer with the kids so far (although I probably say that every year 😉 ). At 9 and 11, they are both at such a good age, they’re great company and life is relatively stress free. I can say that now because I once had a 3 year old, a 5 year old and a completely bonkers puppy. When I look back on that period, I now realise my current life is really rather good!

This summer has been marked by everyone growing up a little and I’ve noticed huge changes in some of the holiday routines that used to be a chore for us. As an example, taking the dog for a walk with the kids has become a pleasure and a joy. A lot of that is down to the fur baby behaving better (that’s a WHOLE other post), but the kids are also getting much better at walking long distances without a litany of complaining. Mid-walk stops at local cafes and ice cream shops have definitely been of assistance, mind. If you’ve been following my Instagram Stories lately you’d be forgiven for assuming my kids have spent their entire summer holidays drinking milkshakes and eating pies!

Fleecing Mum for daily treats aside, the kids have had a wonderful holiday. They’ve enjoyed a week with their cousins, lots of beach days, sleepovers and countless evenings playing outside with their friends. They’ve flown kites, ridden bikes and had time away in the campervan. When I have left them to a bit of downtime (AKA ‘Mum’s busy – let’s go on the Playstation!’) I haven’t felt at all guilty about it – us Mums do too much of that. In the broader scheme of things I know my kids do plenty outdoors, indoors and in time spent exploring and playing with their friends.

As for me, I’ve also had a fantastic holiday. I know it’s not fashionable to say it but I love the extra time spent at home with my two happy, loving boys. We’ve spent more time in Caithness than normal this year which has given us the opportunity to explore local attractions like Lyth Arts Centre and Dunbeath Castle Gardens. We also managed to do about 80% of the things on our summer bucket list. As we also did a few things which weren’t originally on there I’m calling it a win – or at the very least an overall success 😉 .

I haven’t done a huge amount of writing during the holidays but I have managed about one blog post a week which is a lot better than I’d imagined. I have done a lot of reading, though, including some research for the second draft of my novel, which was one of my goals for the 7-week summer break. I also managed to revamp my website and do another unexpected stint on the radio – most of which were achieved by getting up a couple of hours earlier than my children. That does mean that some of my routines and rituals slipped a bit over the holidays (in particular the one about no social media before 9am 😉 ). Never mind – I’ll get back on the wagon come the new school term. I did manage to keep up with my morning yoga over the holidays – hey, I’m hoping that all rather balances it out. 🙂

And so tomorrow we head off to primary 5 (well, a 5/6 composite), and primary 7. Yes, this time next year I will be writing a blubbering post about my eldest going to – whisper it – High School. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy his last year of primary (while devising a cunning plan to stop him getting any bigger).

And today? I’m looking back on those fifty days of summer with a smile, a sigh, and a very happy heart.

Gx