Well, here I am back to writing again.
I've been hiding, in a way, because I haven't had the creative and sarcastic spark that I normally do, and thus I found that sitting in front of a blank screen would make me feel a bit silly. Vacant. A time-waster.
Autumn has descended in the UK in the typical fashion: a week ago it was balmy, Indian Summer bliss. Warm enough to watch the sun set in shorts and a tank top, my hair scraped back from having gone swimming at the local marina with the kids and my other half.
Today, well... today came at us like a bitch slap. It was windy. Crisp. Grey. Cold enough to make me run to find my favourite black knee-length puffy coat with high collar, before going out to the park with the kids. Cold enough to have me dig out thick tights and sweaters for L to start wearing. Cold enough that when we all got back inside the house, the warmth and coziness was welcome relief from the adventures that we took and the running and laughing that we did, with abandon. The rug welcomed us as I laid down on it, with the kids on top of me, using me as their favourite beanbag.
It was a day where it would've been very easy to stay inside and do puzzles and watch Tangled (new favourite film of mine and L's). But no, I made it an imperative to do a no-TV day (much to her dismay) and instead bundled them up and discovered what the day had in store. Cold and runny noses, orange and gold fallen leaves, snacks
al fresco. I even made it a project, and after collecting leaves and learning about shapes that naturally occur in nature, we headed home, stuck leaves on paper and painted them.
It was amazing that a day without an easy crutch (which I admit sometimes I use too much of) was a day spent learning, gazing, laughing and finding the joy in the sparkle of something unexpected.
I start work in November, and today I was eternally grateful that I hadn't gone back to work yet, so that I could really appreciate this day and what it gave us.
I haven't felt this happy in a long time. It's been a while.
