Well, hello there :-) It's been a while ... I haven't published a blog entry since March!Clearly, I gave 'The Blog' a break. I didn't actually plan it though, life just got busy. Yes, we say that all the time (doesn't everyone?). We all feel like we've got so much going on, it's easy to let the little 'extra' things we do fall by the wayside.
The truth is, my blog became a bit of a chore .... just another job I had to remember to do.
I intended originally for it to simply be a mostly humorous chronicle of our daily lives, something I could look back on later and have a bit of a giggle at.
Of course, life isn't always full of laughs; sometimes it's hard to find funny things to share with the world. Honestly, the most hilarious moments tend to be just that - moments. It's not always easy to stretch one amusing comment or situation into an entire blog post. I guess that's why people use Twitter. It's easier to throw a witty one-liner out into the world and move on.
I also wanted blogging to be a bit of a stepping stone to writing bigger things, like that novel I've always planned on (but, surprise surprise, I never seem to have time for that either!).
For the record, everything has actually been sailing along reasonably smoothly. As a family, and individually, we've come through some challenges during the past year or so that have brought us closer together.
We now have two children who have left conventional schooling - our eldest is still attending an independent 'flexible learning' centre and our second is now studying from home with the School of Distance Education. The entire mood in the house has changed! The arguments about school in the mornings are non-existent. My teenagers impress me every day with their maturity - both have come through difficult times, dealing with depression, grief and anxiety at different stages. However, they are now both focused on their school work and are keen to find jobs and get started on the rest of their lives.
Our 'littlest Caveman' is growing quickly too. My 'baby' is disappearing before my eyes. I really need to call him something else for the blog. He's not so little anymore; in just a couple of years, he'll be preparing for high school himself - more scary times ahead!
Today is my birthday, and this morning I woke up feeling pretty good. I'm 43 now (although I told the kids I'd rather the two digits were the other way around on my birthday cake!). Life has settled down somewhat .. The Caveman and I are well settled into our jobs, the kids have their emotional and school situations sorted out (for the time being, at least!) and everything is sailing along relatively smoothly.
Let's hope it stays that way, and maybe I'll try to get a start on that novel after all ;-)
