Over half way through January and I’ve been a bit slack quiet on the blog front already – sorry about that! My years always seem to start off a bit rubbish and I find it hard to get back into the swing of things after Christmas. (Hope you had a good one!) So I thought I’d start off with an easy post – one of those “find out a bit more about me” types.

I guess as a blogger we like to keep a diary of our lives, and this post is a look back on the previous year. The highs and lows of it all. Thanks to Kate for starting this off and nominating me to join in. 

What was your happiest event?

There are quite a few I could choose from here, but I’m going to say my 32nd birthday weekend. I attended a multi-author book signing and got to spend time with bookish friends old & new. There was a party during the evening that The Husband travelled down for, and it was good to let my hair down!

What was the saddest thing to happen?

It was a bit of a shit start to the year to be honest, when I received one of the worst phone calls ever. It’s always hard to find out a family member has died but when you’re told they died by suicide, that really hits you where it hurts the most. Especially when you have mental health problems yourself.

What was the most unlikely thing to happen that actually went ahead and did?

Me driving on a motorway. No, seriously! Since I passed my driving test back on my 30th birthday, whenever I’ve had to take a long journey that involves a motorway, I would always get The Husband to drive or I’d take the train. But I decided I wanted a bit more freedom and though my anxiety is a bitch, I managed it! It wasn’t as scary as I imagined it to be.

Who let you down?

In all honesty, I can’t remember being let down with anything, or by anyone, last year.

Who supported you?

Quite a few people.

My blogging “Octosquad” WhatsApp group, whenever I had blogging queries or I was going through a tough time. I can talk to these ladies about anything at any time of the day, and there is always someone on the end of the phone.

Me and just one of my Octosquad!

The Husband of course. He doesn’t read my blog but has supported it from the beginning, and he took time off work a couple of times last year when I attended blog conferences.

And one of my friends from the village whenever I needed a cuppa and a shoulder to cry on about Jacob’s issues at school.

Tell us what you learned

That when your child is struggling (especially at school) and deep down you know there are one or more underlying issues but nobody seems to want to help. You will fight his corner to get the help he needs, you may have to do the playground walk of shame at least once a week, but you will be strong and stand tall. Well, as tall as you can at 5’1″…

Tell us what made you laugh

The boys are always making me laugh in one way or another, but during their Christmas play last year Noah was shouting rather than singing the songs and I was sat chuckling whenever he stood up to sing. People right at the back of the hall heard it too! Maybe because I told the boys to speak and sing nice & loud so I could hear them… 💁‍♀️

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Tell us the things that made you cry

As I mentioned toward the beginning of this post, my cousin’s death was the first thing I cried about last year. When the boys started back at school in September, Jacob was having a difficult time adjusting to a new class, a new teacher, and a new routine. I have regular progress meetings with the school but we had an urgent one which had me in tears in front of his head, his teacher, and the school SENCO.

Tell us three things your child or children did to make you feel proud. Please miss this question out if you are not a parent

When Jacob got a headteacher’s award was one of my proudest moments. When your child is struggling at school, these small things really count.

Noah graduating from preschool at the beginning of summer was another proud moment. So much effort was put in by the preschool staff to make it lovely, and my face was hurting from smiling. I may have shed a few tears too!

A joint one here, and it may sound silly – but that they managed not to kill each other!

Tell us the things that made you proud of yourself

When you suffer from anxiety it’s the little things that make you proud. Driving on the motorway was one of them! And when I volunteered at Race for Life.

Tell us the challenges you overcame

Pretty much as above – facing up to and dealing with my anxiety issues was a big challenge. I had an epiphany and decided I would try harder to control my anxiety, rather than it control me. For the most part, it seems to be working.

Tell us the things you would like to change about your life in 2019

I don’t think there is anything in particular I would like to change, in all honesty. I’ll just take each day as it comes. Although, I do want to improve my fitness which I’ve already started with daily dog walks, increasing my distance each day.

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I’m now tagging Emma at Happy Family Hub, Rachael at Lukeosaurus And Me, and Vicki at Mumma And Her Monsters to take part.