Here's to the small stuff: A list of recent highs and lows
Kicking off a new season with a selection of trivial ups and downs
Like lots of people, I write a short list every night of the things I’m grateful for. I like to acknowledge the high points that can easily get lost amongst the exhaustion of life/parenting/relentlessly emptying and refilling the dishwasher. It’s good for morale.
So I thought it would be a nice to pick some highlights to share from time to time. I’m also a big fan of a reality check, so I'll also chuck in a few of the lows too, for balance. Feel free to share your own list in the comments!
HIGH POINTS
Leon turned 40 so we went to Deal for a day and a night to celebrate, just us. We ate delicious lunch, we hung out in our little rented flat watching The Thick of It (because we are extremely current), and we had dinner at The Rose, which everyone is right to bang on about. (Special mention for the gin cocktail made with pear yogurt which sounded mad but was amazing). I woke up early the next morning and watched the first episode of One Day in my pyjamas with a cup of tea and lived the freaking dream for 30 precious minutes. And then we had a full English on the pier and went home. We had the perfect 24 hour reminder of why we built this life in the first place, and who doesn’t need that every now and then?
The tulips I planted in a very willy-nilly fashion in the autumn started coming up in the front garden. Because bulbs will always find a way through no matter where they find themselves. (Note to self: BE MORE BULB).
I emerged from hibernation and started going into London to socialise again and it felt GOOD. I had a lovely dinner and frozen blood orange margaritas - pictured below - with a fabulous friend at Forza Wine (Katherine wrote about our dessert in her excellent recommendations newsletter and yes it was a game changer). I went to Kasa & Kin with 5/6 of my school friends group, where the food and drink was great and the company was as immature and joyous as I hope we will always be. And I had dinner and more margaritas with two incredible pals at El Pastor. Perhaps going outside isn’t so bad after all.
Our 2.5 year old son's dinosaur obsession is bringing us a lot of joy (and volume). He’s started saying ‘Let’s go on an adventure!’ to me on our days together, which is cute but also PRESSURE. So I’ve done my best to come up with good dino-related stuff. Dinosaur rEvolution at the Horniman Museum was a massive highlight, and I will never tire of watching him roar at the giant T-Rex at the Natural History Museum. May his passion for all things noisy and prehistoric never fade.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - walks by yourself are good for the soul. This month’s solo strolls all happened in the rain and I did not care. The bar for what classes as quality alone time is beautifully low for me now.
In related news, I bought a new raincoat with a big peaked hood and it has made me incredibly happy because I am 38 years old.
Any time our 6 year old daughter really talks to me about school or what she thinks and feels, it makes the list because I adore our chats. It tends to happen when she’s drawing or baking with me, or trying to get out of eating a dinner I’ve made (fair play). I hope she never stops wanting to talk to me.
I finished an actual grown up book! My Dark Vanessa is the darkest story I’ve read in a long time and I was totally gripped, but then also quite relieved to close that world.
We watched the original Mary Poppins as a family for the first time, and the songs, dancing penguins and Mary’s bottomless bag won the children over big time. Don’t tell me you can’t make memories while watching TV, Instagram, because we just did!
I bought an Easter egg to eat by myself while writing this. That's a luxury activity as far as I'm concerned.
FOR BALANCE - A FEW LESS IDEAL POINTS
It would be dishonest not to mention how ridiculously NOT OK I was in the run up to our Deal trip. I felt sick about being away from the children, but of course everyone was absolutely fine, so hopefully I’ll remember not to underestimate us all next time around. What a ride, eh!
While I love so much about this age and stage, some aspects of toddler life are proving quite hard going right now. I very much appreciated a reminder I saw online that small people's ways are not personal, they're developmental. And thank goodness for that.
Bedtime has got the better of me almost everyday recently. I keep falling asleep with our daughter and missing the entire evening. One night I woke up in her bed at 00:42 feeling hot, confused and furious with myself. I shall try to keep my eyes open more in April.
Despite my best intentions, I’ve been spending too much time on my phone. Sometimes it’s necessary to keep work, admin or coat delivery moving, and other times I unlock my screen and I don’t even know why. I’m determined to do better at remembering who controls who around here.
I finished my Easter egg. It’s never easy to say goodbye.
So tell me, what's on your list?
This is perfect! It is always best to stop what you're doing every once in a awhile and just take inventory. I'm happy that your month has been more joyful than not.
❤️