2023 - Roller Coasters And Rambling Wrap Ups

IMAGE: PINTEREST.COM | 2016 - Roller Coasters And Rambling Wrap Ups

Ahem. Hi. Remember me? 

Yeah - once upon a time I did a little rambling in the pages below but then I forgot to keep up the rambling cos I felt like I had nothing worthy to say and I got all serious and 'adulty' and too busy to be creative. Yeah - that.

The meme to the left is pretty much the only reasonable explanation I have for being decidedly absent from The Mother Load this year.  What the hell happened to 2023? Did I fall asleep in May and forget to set my alarm for July? Did I pass out from the cold in June and come to in October? I have a vague recollection of a teen starting and completing her first year of high school and another sailing through second grade but admittedly it's all a bit of a blur...?

Yes, admittedly, in 2022 there were the usual music exams and solo performances with both girls participating equally this year which of course added to the household tension, preparation and anticipation.  There were school plays, sports days, coffee mornings, and milestone birthdays but I'll need to refer to the photographic evidence for those details as they are all a blur having passed me by at the speed of light. 

There was the traditional array of personal ups and downs in our lives this year but the scales were fairly well-balanced so it was all about our interpretation of whether the glass was half empty or half full. As it turns out, it was mostly half full - phew. On the upside, along came our beloved new furry family member Teddy the Labradoodle who is totally awesome and super-loved and who keeps us on our toes stealing more socks and hair elastics than I thought we actually owned. Although he came along in 2022 it could well have been 2006 given how quickly he's already become part of the furniture (furniture with a few teeth marks, I might add).  There have been new jobs, new opportunities, new friendships and new worries, but we're all still here, still healthy and the fresh beginnings that are 2024 is merely days away.

Seems that the older I get, the quicker time is moving and I don't like it - not one little bit. Why is that? Is the first part of life a bit like a steep, slow climb to the top of a roller coaster followed in the second half by the speedy, uncontrollable white-knuckled descent which, despite all preparations to hold on tight you're never quite prepared for? Truth be told, I think I'm in my descent. I don't mean that in a sombre here-comes-death way, but something about my life, its pace and the circumstances I find myself in recent years makes me feel like I've already reached the tip of the coaster and the wind has started to whistle in my ears as we head rapidly downwards. (I hate roller coasters by the way.)

With that in mind, is there any way we can perhaps hit the brakes on this roller coaster for a little necessary maintenance? Say - maybe that's what family holidays are all about? Maybe they're just a temporary halt to whichever roller coaster direction you're on where time is allowed to stand still for a bit while you re-group and adjust your safety belt? Maybe? Anyway, just a thought.

And yep, it seems my rambling is back.....😏

2016 - A Snapshot To Date

Welcome to 2016! I hope the year has started well for you - mine certainly has given we've spent most of our time beach side. We're slowly easing back into normality and with that in mind I can't believe in less than three weeks we're back into a new school year once more. Didn't I JUST wash those damn lunchboxes???! Anyway, the school shoes are done and that's enough for now until the books arrive sometime next week. Let's just hang here in denial for a bit longer, OK?

In January 2014 I was inspired by the lovely Nikki Parkinson at Styling You to post my snapshot of the year so far. (My original version is here). Two years on, I've decided to repeat the post as it's a lovely way to capture the holiday vibe and tuck away the memories for another year.

Let's do this!

May Your Shirts All Be Pocketed!

IMAGE : THE MOTHER LOAD | Shirts Be Pocketed

As we skid across the line from one year to the next tonight, the usual amount of yearly reflection saw some family members and I sitting around the kitchen bench last night, chatting about the woes of recent years gone by. (I know, right? We're a barrel of laughs).

As generally lucky and blessed as we are, we've seen our fair share of shit on the shovel in the last two years. There have definitely been some dodgy times through 2014 and 2015 and as it turns out, our family has a tendency to toss those various woes around in conversation like deflated footballs, comparing one to the other.  Our discussion is not a competition about who had it the worst but rather more a bit of a therapy session knowing that at a certain point it's good to download and discuss these challenges particularly when you're on the tail end of them. It seems to make everyone feel as though they've conquered and survived their own little Everest or something. So we say, "Remember this one? But don't forget this! Or that - what about that! That was terrible!" Etc. etc. and then everyone feels a little better about the past and about looking forward into the new year.