A few updates

Things have been a bit too much for me lately - some good things, some stressful things, but just a lot! Work has been a lot (lots of out of hours work due to piling up deadlines which I usually try to avoid), we've had family staying with us, friends visiting from interstate (which has been lovely), birthdays, kids activities, and the usual medical appointments, life admin etc etc. I've thought about or even started to write a blog post a few times, but didn't manage to hit post. So here is me setting the bar low, with a few short updates. Hopefully this week I can get my blogging rhythm back again!

1. O had his first kindy (preschool) friend party last weekend! It was great to hear him talk about all his little classmates and see him gaining confidence (he's a pretty shy kid), and it was nice for me to get to know a few of the parents too. By O's age, E already had quite a few Kindy friends but O is a different kid. He's taken a bit longer to get into playing with the other kids. He's also developing in other ways which is very cute (started to draw proper stick figures and animals rather than squiggles, and get into colouring and some more advanced puzzles, as well as maths activities.

   

   Eating birthday cake

2. E did a rockclimbing activity at Scouts last week and she was SO GOOD at it. This is exciting because E is not the most physically talented kid (she's loves to run around but sports are not generally her thing). Turns out she's a talented rock climber and got to the very top of the wall (the Scouts leaders were very impressed). She's already asking when she can go again.

   

   There she is- right at the top!

3. I've continued reading Gentle by Courtney Carver on my Kindle. A few points in particular have resonated with me. In particular, the reminder that free time can be used to be free, not to "catch up". "If catching up worked, you'd be caught up by now." Lately, I feel like I'm always behind. There's always things to catch up on - on chores, on tidying, on laundry, on gardening, on clearing out my email inbox, on tracking finances, paying bills, calling family and friends, etc etc. I need to let this concept go. Everything is OK just as it is. Of course I do want to do many of these things, but objectively nothing terrible is happening because they aren't done already.

4. I had dinner with an old friend last night who was visiting our region on holiday. Just the two of us, no kids (we did a family catch up with her and her 10 month old last weekend). It was so lovely to spend a few hours talking, just like we did for so many countless hours in our teens, 20s and early 30s.. It reminds me how nourishing it is to spend time with old friends who've known you forever and know you SO well.

5. Today has been a low key Mothers Day. The usual lovely craft gifts from the kids (nice work teachers and Scout leaders for initiating this), Al cooked us all breakfast. I saw my own mum (very grateful she lives close enough now to pop around to her house), and had a nap. Now grocery shopping (solo, which I quite enjoy), and some planning for the week. All very low key, which I like, but not a bad day at all.

   

   My Mother’s Day haul

Anyone else having a too busy May? I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Happy mothers day to the mums out there (and thinking of those for which this day brings feelings of loss or sadness).