Muddling Through

So nothing’s back to normal and everything is all at once. In this topsy turvy world we’re still trying to cope with, it feels less scary due to the mass rollout of vaccines however the children remain unvaccinated and positive cases continue to rise. Since my last post things have returned to a relatively normal state, the children are back in school (though this week I have one self isolating due to a positive case in her class) most shops and venues are open, the cleaning help is long gone and I’m able to focus more on keeping house and taking care of everyone without the added stress of mass remote schooling and lockdowns.

Life has changed a lot for me in the last 10 weeks, with more time to take care of myself, and the glaring reminder of my unhealthy state in the form of an early vaccination invitation, I have become someone I never thought I could be. I’m suddenly the woman who gets up at 5am to do a full on workout; the woman who walks right past the car at 8am to walk her children the mile to school and takes a detour through the park on the way home to soak up the fresh air, and does the same again at 3; the woman who eats her 5 a day and enjoys it. I’m feeling so much fitter and healthier already and have so much more energy. It’s a real commitment, to spend so much time looking after myself, but it’s definitely been worth it so far.

It’s the time of year again when the garden really starts to come into its own. This year we have installed another raised bed along the western fence and the peas, spinach and lettuces are coming along nicely. We have lots of strawberries fruiting and some lovely cabbages finally sporting their compact heads.

The herb bed has gone completely wild in a beautiful and unexpected way, it’s currently sporting a lovely array of sage, chive, parsley and chamomile flowers which are so pretty I couldn’t bring myself to cut them back. The rhubarb is running rampant and there looks to be plenty of blackcurrants and gooseberries ripening as well as autumn raspberries shooting canes up inches a day. The roses, lavenders and clematis are blooming, and the Busy Lizzie, geraniums and begonias are just coming into flower all around the patio.

We’re into our final term of home education now, with the youngest three at school and hollie preparing for vi form in September. She has bee offered a place based on the grades she achieved last November and the school have agreed to allowing her out to sit her final five. She’s currently braving a transition week and despite her nerves, she’s really loving it. I will write a further post on coming to the end of our home education journey, and some reflections on that very soon.