The pity party’s been cancelled. I knew early on today that there was going to be a fight. Between self-pity and gratitude. The rest of the family headed off to climb a mountain and I was left to my own devices at home.

‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.’ What way do you live yours? I’m afraid to say, I’m a glass half empty kind of a girl. But I have discovered that expecting the worst, focusing on…

Jamie tugged at his collar. Tonight was the night. Matt had put some kind of gel in his hair and looked, quite honestly, an eijit. He was also smelling like he’d had a bad encounter with Semi-Chem. Julie looked different too. Jamie squinted at her, trying to figure it out. Legs. They weren’t the usual…

Be a lion, not a mouse If I only had the nerve. So says the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. I wonder how many of us can relate to that? Since the heartbreak of the fatal shooting of Lyra McKee last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about courage, and how much we…

Or, heaven forbid, on your head.

I was thinking of writing a blog about being yourself, but as I trawled through Winnie the Pooh quotes ( because where else would you start?) I saw one that made me laugh. Pooh asks, ‘is that you rabbit?’ Rabbit replies, ‘let’s pretend it isn’t and see what happens.’ Thinking about that, there have been…

Wherever, whenever and whatever you desire. My husband got to travel across to America last week. He enjoyed beaches, museums and wineries in San Diego and then spent a packed day in the Big Apple, taking in bagel shops, sampling warm cookies, going up the Empire State building, catching the ferry to Staten Island and…

Loneliness linked with introspection linked with sadness. I’m sure you’ve been there. If you haven’t, what’s your secret?

I bring you colour! This is the second post I’ve written today but, in the middle of the first, I got a grip. It’s so easy to write yourself into a dark place. Harder to climb up or step back to find the light. <!–more–> After last week’s grey wall, a friend suggested painting it,…

Needing to rest and wanting to be out in the fresh air, having things to do and no energy to tackle them, longing to find the story and facing a wall of uncertainty instead.