Back to work this week – now I miss holiday! And it did feel rather tough this week, mainly because of the amazing heat. 6 days or so of temperatures over 30 degrees is pretty unusual in London and did lead to a lot of hot and bothered meetings. One negative of working at home, no excuse to stop meetings and go and eat ice cream. Although one plus of working at home, I did go and cool off in the forest on some meeting calls.
The hot weather did make everyone slow down. I spent 2, ok maybe 3, hours making a Lego parrot that pooped when you lifted its beak. The majority of the time was spent raking through the Lego boxes looking for pieces. Too much Lego – can that really be a thing!
Kids were so hot all week they spent most of it listening to audiobooks and lounging around on the furniture or in the garden. Am grappling with whether the amount of time they spend on audiobooks is ok, I think it probably is….Although trying to get their attention can be challenging.
I did get a bit frustrated with just the sheer amount of work I needed to get through this week and the lack of hours to do it in. No-ones fault, just the reality of the situation we are in, trying to remodel the way we deliver education in a few weeks. And just so much to think about that deserves proper thought when it is hot and we are all pressured. Neither of which are conducive to good thought. That sounds negative and I finished the week in a better place by just cracking through a lot of things on Friday. And taking some strategic breaks!
Once again I was reminded of the importance of walking away from the laptop – you know, your best ideas come when in the shower etc. On Thursday, I was feeling guilty that I wasn’t spending enough quality time with the kids, despite being with them ALL the time in effect. Ridiculous Mummy guilt but anyway. So late in the afternoon, I took three children for a bike ride in the Forest and it was completely lovely. The air was fresh, the sun filtering through the leaves, signs of Autumn on the way, it felt good, fresh and enough! Not all the kids wanted to come, but we had races around the covered reservoir and reconnected. I really do need to listen to my own words and remember that these simply activities are enough.
On Friday, a day with no plans except maybe a bike ride, we ended up having playdates and some of us went on a bike ride, as well as finally booking our holiday. YAY! A bit of serendipity in that the place we have booked only came back as available Friday morning so we got super lucky. But all things going ok, we’ll be going to Norfolk and being by the beach for a week. Brilliant. Just booking this seemed to shift the mental fug that Mike and I had been and rejuvenate us all. I literally cannot wait 🙂