Feeling laid back...

We've just got back from a week's holiday in France and have had a thoroughly fantastic time. Piccies will follow... Neither of us had realised how tired we both were so both of us have come back having recharged our batteries.

I was thrilled because I was able to get my watch fixed that I had bought earlier in the year and which went dormant on me after just one wearing... Apparently, there is no language barrier to being a grumpy old woman. My language skills are improving. Yipee!

Malheuresement, I weighed myself when I got back and I have put on 7lbs in a week. For that I should have been able to gorge myself absolutely silly - but I didn't honest... The diet starts tomorrow again.

On a happier note, when I got back I had confirmation that I have had my professional Personnel status reinstated. I am thrilled, I had to work quite hard to prove it so I didn't take it for granted. I don't think that I will go back to the level of responsibility I have previously enjoyed (?!) but I am glad to work where I can build on my background and experience. It's all part and parcel of a level of normality.

And the icing on the cake is the tennis. Or it would be if rain hadn't stopped play. Things are looking up...

Rudolph, a bird and lame excuses...

Well, time has really evaporated since I last blogged. I am full of a cold today - hence Rudloph. I was optimistic that it was hay fever and went to buy a 15 minute cure, the woman behind the counter laughed when I asked for it, but 13 hours later there has been no respite. Feeling that I couldn't really do much I was a bit bemused when Kevin said to me earlier about there being something in the conservatory. It was a rather unhappy trapped bird and I have no idea how long it had been trying to make its exit. So Kevin had to coax it to go outside without it leaving its mark everywhere... Apparently it took more than one attemp to release it back into the wild. Once Kevin had managed this, the stupid bird flew back into the conservatory again - honestly. I thought goldfish have small brains.

I haven't really been around as such as I have been trying to reinstate my professional qualifications. I know I like writing but I have found it really hard as I've had to try and prove that I've got what it takes to be a professional personnel person. I have had to draw upon any recent experiences as part of a personal development plan. The great thing is that my employers have made some contribution to this so now I just wait and see whether I developed in my time out. Given the works of fiction that I have carefully crafted professionally, I have had no inclination to write blog.

Good luck to all the "Race for Life" girls. Sorry that I'm not really around to cheer you on.

It's been a funny old week...

I haven't really got into this week, wot with no church, a Bank Holiday and on Thursday I had a day out sick from work. So I've been feeling drained but a little lighter (work it out dont' want to give you TMI -too much information...) On Thursday afternoon I felt a bit brighter but still without energy so I did a bit of a silly thing really. I seem to have got sucked into the crafty thing making a few cards and preparing to do my Daniel scrapbook. Well, I decided to look at some cards to give me inspiration and I hit upon looking at the birth cards for ideas for the scrapbook. I know it wasn't a wise move, because inevitably it did upset me, BUT going through each card reminded me of the love and support we received as a family particularly from the church. So whilst it was a painful experience, if I hadn't done it I would not have received the blessing. I guess this is all part of the bigger picture.

On Wednesday, I started to talk to a work colleague about Daniel. There are only 2 people who know. Somehow she made a comment which lead onto me giving her the edited highlights (or should I say lowlights). I only spoke for a couple of minutes and didn't bog her down with detail. Unfortunately, I cannot share the better bits about Daniel without giving the context in which things happened. One of the things that I find hardest to adjust to is that people who meet me now don't have any understanding of who I was before, that I am a Mum and all that that means to me. In some ways, I don't want them to get to know me other than superficially but it means that there is something missing (actually someone) and I just can't talk about it because there is no relevance to the present or future. It's a bit strange really. It's not a gripe, just an acceptance of the gap between myself and others. It makes me think, who else feels like this too, about other things? So you can see, a funny old week, really...