Oh well. It was a nice idea at the time, but November had other ideas about how I should spend my days - and writing for pleasure certainly wasn't on the list! I did not get one single word written outside of my work requirements *sigh*.
I am not, however, berating myself too hard for this. Life is messy, and the last term of the year is demanding for any teacher. This is particularly true when it is your first time through the routines, as it was for me in 2016, and I am just pleased to look back on the end of the school year feeling proud that my reports were done well, the students remained calm and on track right up to the last day, they got personal achievement certificates at our very successful Leavers' Dinner, my awards for Prize Giving were organised in plenty of time and we threw a 2-day school camp into the mix just for good measure. So, on the whole, while I would have liked to do the writing I proposed in my last post I don't actually feel bad about not getting there.
And now Christmas and the New Year are done, and life begins to return to normal after the New Zealand summer shut-down. I'm still in non-contact time from school, but have plenty of other things to be doing. This time last year I was away in the UK, visiting family and friends, so the normal summer tidy up/sort out/renovate or maintain jobs that I do around our house and garden didn't get done. I am working through the house slowly, and feel so much better now I'm reclaiming it room by room. Papers are getting sorted and filed, boxes are being emptied and recycled, cobwebs are a thing of the past and the vacuum cleaner gets emptied five times a day! I have recovered the dog's bed and replaced the old fabric that she managed to break through in her restlessness - she now sleeps in comfort and style once again - and have enjoyed having my sewing machine out so much that I'm planning on making a summer dress or two once payday rolls around and there's some cash in my account again!
My sons are both at home at the moment, the elder being back from varsity. They're helping out around the house too, as neither of them have summer jobs, and we've reached a working agreement. I leave them alone to be teenagers in the morning and they have a list of things that need doing in the afternoon. They choose at least one every day, and the list is quickly disappearing.
We've also been eating at the dining room table each evening, as a family. Now, through the last year I must confess that although we ate together whenever we were all at home, we did so in the living room with our plates on our knees. And it was my fault. I'd buried the dining room table under paperwork and unfinished projects, you see. So my first tidying up priority was to get it clear, and I'm really enjoying our family mealtimes once again. It gives me a good incentive to keep the table that way.
I've also been playing my piano again, which I have missed, and reading books for pleasure not just work. And half way through my long summer break I feel fabulous! This "looking after yourself" lark really does work!
I'll have to keep on doing some of that as I go through this year.
Next post will be about my new year resolutions - or rather, the lack of them! But I do resolve to write it in the next few days. I'm aiming for twice a week, and the habits starts now!
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