Our Wonderful Week: Happy New Year 1/52

Although I’m not a fan of resolutions, my promise to myself this year was that I would take more time to do the things I love and, more than anything, I love to write. It sounds crazy to say I want to write more when my whole blog centres around writing, but somewhere over the last twelve months I feel as though I have lost my way a little, snowed under with deadlines and pressures, far too hung up on making sure that every piece of writing and every photograph was “worthy”. And actually, the reason I started my blog in the first place was purely to document our days, not just the extraordinary moments we shared as a family, but the ordinary ones too. So this year, that’s exactly what I’m going to do in the form of these little weekly round-ups.

This week has been a strange one, stuck in this limbo of not knowing what day it is, eating way to much food, barely getting changed out of our pyjamas, and our sleeping patterns all over the place. I really struggle with this time of year and after a few days lying around on the couch I realised we needed to get dressed and get out!

One of our favourite places to go as a family is Formby Point, just a short drive away but the most perfect place to blow away the cobwebs and just breathe. It’s been difficult over the holidays with Megan recovering from her surgery and unable to be in confined spaces with other people, or even socialise with friends and family, so getting outdoors was so welcome and we actually had a really lovely day just playing on the sand, jumping around the sand dunes, and kicking the football around in the forest.

It may sound crazy but for some reason, and I’m not really sure why, I feel very close to Joseph by the sea and, with Christmas always being particularly hard without him, it was exactly what I needed this week to help lift that sadness. When Megan wrote his name in the sand along with “We miss you”, you would think it would break my heart and yet actually, knowing that he is still so loved and missed on our fourteenth Christmas without him, it healed it right there in that moment.

This weekend we decided to get the train to Liverpool, another of my favourite places to visit with the children. There is so much to do in Liverpool with kids and, even better, especially when your bank balance is still recovering from the shock of Christmas, most of it is free! It really hit me this weekend just how much I am enjoying this stage with the children as, although I will be eternally broody and miss those baby days, I love how interested they are in learning about the world (they were fascinated by Ancient Egypt at the World Museum!), how much they love to explore new places (and hunting out all of the hidden spots!), and just being really good company too (never thought I’d say that a few years ago!). I know I’ll probably say the same thing next year but right now, I think 5, 6 and 7 may well be my favourite stage yet.

All in all it was a good week, a great week actually when I look back. It can be hard sometimes to appreciate every moment when you’re living it in real time and so perhaps these little round ups will do me the world of good to look back every Sunday and see that actually, our weeks are pretty wonderful.

Happy New Year to you all!