Rather than ramble on as to the reasons why we may need these 7 tips right now, I’ll just let you scroll and apply as needed. Stay safe and stay home.
This morning on my coffee break I went to see my 71year old Mum at her work. Like most of us in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England we are anxiously waiting for the inevitable closure of our schools. So, I thought I would take her for a takeaway coffee before she is potentially quarantined and while my children remain in the classroom.
To be honest taking the time to visit her was a relief from news articles about coronavirus on what’s app groups and the general noise of panic. Continue Reading…
It’s difficult for me not to think of my own Mother as Mother’s day draws near but then again it’s difficult for me to admit that, despite my writing to my deceased Father, to my deceased Grandmother and my dear cousin who passed away two years ago…I have somehow never written to or about my Mother – the only one still present. A constant in my life since Dad died in 1991. School, University, married life, my own journey as a Mother- she’s walked the walk with me.
As with many of the personal pieces I write, my eyes begin to water with each click of the keyboard. But here goes…
My widowed Mother exclaims every time I write a blogpost about grief or sadness “ why do you torture yourself Alyson?”. She knows that I weep as I write.
Some say it is cathartic to help me come to terms with my own grief from a young age, others say it is self serving. Yet, six years into my writing it feels bigger than that. Continue Reading…
You had a turbulent day in work, a fraught journey home and now you’re sat on the sofa in your jeans and sweater after devouring some pasta with your hubby. You pop each wary foot into your slippers with the wool as light as marshmallows around your heels. Continue Reading…
There is a reason we all take photos – so we can remember moments.
Another is so we can compare and contrast. A great example of this is on any fitness journey (my postpartum journey being an example of this and you can read here) we are so focused on the change in routine we sometimes forget to look at the results as we go along. Continue Reading…
Our family aired the tent out for the the first time this year. Last weekend we ventured to Portballintrae- the same area where I holidayed as a child with my Mum and my brother. Continue Reading…
I posted recently about how I learned to smile with my mouth closed four years ago. I noticed that my friend effortlessly smiled without showing her teeth and I wanted to to the same so I would stop scrutinising my crooked teeth when the photos were printed. I have a beauty spot above one side of my lip so always felt my smile was “wonky” anyway then my teeth were crowded on the top left and the crushed pegs on the bottom of my mouth made me self conscious. Don’t get me wrong, if you see me from a certain angle and a distance you can’t notice, but we all have our “thing” that bothers us don’t we? Continue Reading…
I would like to invite you to imagine you are sitting in a restaurant, listening in on two people at the next table chatting, and the conversation going like this; Continue Reading…
It’s hard for me to pinpoint a time in my life when anxiety hasn’t reared its head in some shape or form.
From primary school worries about being the smallest in the class to the torture of bullying for several years; through secondary education in an all girls school to career worries at university; and finally to post-natal depression and a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder almost 5 years ago. Continue Reading…