Back soon

Or… “The Importance Of Downtime“…

It’s been a while (actually, far too long) since we were down in Cape Agulhas and it does seem that events are regularly conspiring to ensure that it’s going to be even longer before we can actually get down there again.

This school term has set all sorts of new records for the workload that has been placed on both our kids and ourselves. The optimist in me would like to suggest that next term won’t be quite as bad, but the logical realist in me just laughs when he hears that sort of thing.
“This is the new normal,” he says. “It only gets harder from here.”

Bastard.

The kids’ achievements over the last few weeks have been impressive though. Cub and Scout badges, great marks at school, that Eisteddfod performance, a first “official” 5km run – it all makes it worthwhile. But sickness and business trips, maternity leave (not ours), together with the usual slings and arrows have made for a tough few weeks.

I sometimes feel a bit guilty for taking time out to go to the gym or to play football, but without it, I (and with me, our family life) would be a nightmare. These “time outs” are important, even though sometimes while you’re on them, you feel you should be doing other things. We need to make sure everyone in the family gets the opportunity to grab an hour every now and again, and not feel guilty about it. The time thing is just that: forcing yourself to make time to just stop for a moment, and the attitude is just a mindset thing, but it’s sometimes difficult to overcome.

And now, as of this morning, suddenly even next weekend’s escape seems to be in some sort of jeopardy.

We have to make a plan.
We will make a plan.