Lately

The summer has chugged along at a pace which has been at once leisurely and far too fast for my liking. I still catch myself filled with dread for the start of term only to remember that I am not returning to school. Still, I am going to miss the slower pace of life during the summer holidays. Mornings will return to that hurried, frantic rush to get breakfast, find uniform, make packed lunches, and get to school on time. I think we will find it difficult to readjust to the new rhythm.

The summer holiday started strong with a trip down to Leigh-on-Sea to see dear friends. The following week we went to see Frozen in the West End before it closes in September then we celebrated our birthdays by planting our new front garden bed. At the start of August, the kids and I visited my brother in Brighton for a couple of days, I did a tour of a local vineyard with a good friend and then before we knew it, it was time to get ready for our Norway P&O cruise on the Iona. It was a fantastic holiday.

Austin has spent many days at holiday camp – asking to go to more than I had originally booked! Evelina has enjoyed some sleepovers and time with friends as well as a good number of lie-ins! We have been back-to-school shopping (shoes, stationery, uniform). We are all ready. We just have to get those bedtimes back to a more reasonable time! Next Tuesday is going to be rude awakening for Evelina as she goes back to her bus commute. Thank goodness it is a bit later this year (and arriving home earlier too).

I am looking forward to my favourite season but also wonder what is coming next for me. This has been a strange year: I have been learning to live without a high level of stress but also without a sense of purpose or direction. Perhaps the natural new beginning feel of September will help me to find my way.