In the week or so since I last wrote the world has shifted once more, with another layer of the UK’s Covid-19 response unfurling towards ‘lockdown.’ Citizens are restricted to a narrow range of activities, with outings from the home permissible only for work, obtaining food or medicines, helping the vulnerable or partaking in one…
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When I need to occupy my mind (and who doesn’t right now?) I tend to make lists, make plans, and do what I can to channel my anxiety into action. This weekend, I’ve been using some of the extra time at home to think about plans for homeschooling my children – in fact, I’m feeling…
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It might surprise you to know that our household does not possess a dishwasher. About a year ago, our dishwasher broke, and we decided to find out whether we could get along without it for a while. Granted, there was also an element of laziness involved – ‘finding out whether we could get along without…
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When I look back on my memories of Christmas as a child, they are vague and happy. The opening of the living room door in the half-light and small cries of ‘Santa’s been!’ Trying to stay awake in the hopes of glimpsing red fabric or a boot topped with snowy white dusting. Paper party hats,…
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If I could describe June in one word it would be this one: whirlwind. The last month of the academic year here literally flew by, with all sorts of end-of-term activities, and transition arrangements for my eldest moving up to High School after the summer break. It’s also been an emotional time, with a series of…
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Over the last few days, I’ve found myself returning time and again to the same question: how on earth did we get to the point where our eldest son is just about to leave primary school? The second half of the academic year has literally flown by, and it seems only a blink since I wrote about our year of small goodbyes as…
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At this time of year, I usually like to take a look back on the twelve months that are about to leave us, but this year I have to admit I’m thinking more about the twelve months that are about to begin. This year has been a relatively stable one for me, without some of the…
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Recently, my youngest son received a green Blue Peter badge for his efforts in picking up litter around our local community. He didn’t just do it for the badge, though: it’s something he’s done quite naturally for a long time on dog walks and on the way back home from school. The sight of him laden…
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My son woke up recently and exclaimed ‘So much to look forward to!’ From the outside at least, there was nothing special about this particular day. He had to go to school and the weather outside was miserable. But in his mind, the promise of a new day was imbued with wonder. It held that…
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My kids may be getting a bit bigger these days, but I still have vivid memories of the many hours spent breastfeeding them when they were babies. The smell of their skin, their little fingers wrapped around my own – and easily getting through a whole episode of Desperate Housewives in the space of just one newborn feed.…
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