Bank holiday sunshine

I'm really pleased that we had a bank holiday weekend full of rare sunshine. I'm hoping the august one will be a repeat :-) Tho not a sun worshipper myself, I know many many people will have revelled in the glorious weather. Indeed, Facebook tells me it was so.

Social media I think is a mixed blessing, especially around loneliness. It can be brilliant for staying connected. It has an important potential for reaching out when feeling down, several of my friends have successfully used it in this way. I also think we have to work hard at remembering it is only a partial picture. I know there will be lots going on yesterday that didn't make it to instagram, the family fall outs in hot cars not recorded, the people who for whatever reason were not joining the nation in relaxation.

I did my best to make the most of the loveliness and managed a fair bit of gardening in the shade. I know a time will come when I don't have this much time at home so it's good to get as much sorted whilst I can. As always, I find it useful to remember my mantra "this won't last forever", something I've tried to apply throughout parenting. Single parenting has its challenges (as well as its delights) at each stage. I can't imagine how tough it must be when they're very young and need you constantly. This current stage of exam pressure seems intense and I'm glad I stayed around to provide a steady stream of nutritious meals, healthy drinks and plenty of treats too. Revision encouragement, and just the dull but necessary keeping things ticking over with laundry, tidying etc, these are things that I'm content to do as I know a time will come when they won't need me in this way either. What I struggle with is the lack of company. Thankfully I have an easy volunteering option so was able to help out on the phone line a fair bit which is a double win, the caller gets what they need and so do I :-)

As we know, I have choices, so I either change the situation or change how I respond to the situation. With another bank holiday on the horizon, I can try and set that one up differently. Today I'm off to seek company at the fracking site. The last time I cycled that way it took ages so we'll see how today goes, my plan is to be back before today's rain starts!