It can feel strange writing a post again, after an unplanned break. And I'm not even quite sure how to begin. Life has been a LOT lately. Most days have been physically challenging, and the overwhelm has been huge, but I think that I'm finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
My body feels sluggish and tired. Most days I feel nauseous and achy, and I have only just acknowledged that I still have a lot of healing to do in order to feel like myself once again. There are no quick fixes here. I'm going to have to pull myself up by the bootstraps and put the work in, so I'm going through the motions in the hope that I can gain some momentum.
Last month, we took a short trip to Dublin. It's somewhere that has been on my list for a while, and it didn't disappoint. We explored the city on foot, took the obligatory photographs with the Molly Malone statue, and visited the Guinness Storehouse. If you ever get a chance to visit there, I would definitely recommend it, and not just for the free pint of Guinness at the end of the tour. I enjoyed a half, and Lily drank what they call 'Clear Guinness' - water. Then we couldn't not visit the famous Temple Bar, even joining in with a live performance of Take Me Home, Country Roads :) It was only a short visit, but very enjoyable.
I ended the month of April with a trip to a spa with my girls. And what a fantastic day! The weather was amazing - sunshine and blue skies - so we spent much of our time outdoors, in the hot tub and in the swimming pool. It felt like being abroad on holiday, instead of us being just a few miles from home. Then afterwards we enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea beside the river. Very relaxing, and very much needed.
I've been getting out for some fresh air, given the opportunity, but even that has felt like a lot of effort, recently. I find that I'm getting tired easily, so I'm trying not to overdo things. Patience really is not one of my strong points, but I now realise - begrudgingly - that I do need to take things very slowly for the time being, After completing just a gentle fell walk with my friend, I couldn't believe how exhausted I felt afterwards. It took me a good week to recover. Lesson learned.
The following week, Lily and I enjoyed a more gentle pace, with a wander down by the shore. I felt the need for some sea air, as I often do when I'm feeling out of sorts. We took a walk over the headland, where the bluebells and cow parsley were looking beautiful, and we then we had a lovely time searching for sea glass, while sitting on the warm sand.
In other news, I now have a teenager in the house! Lily celebrated her 13th birthday in her usual understated way - a day at school, then she went to the youth club that same evening, and I baked cookies for everyone.
I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone's news later on, but first, I'm going to see about getting out for a (very) gentle run.
Back soon.
J. X
