Friday Focus 25/02/22 – Anxious

It’s half-term this week and while on the surface, I’ve been focusing on trying to keep it fun for Sophie and Thomas, underneath I’ve been feeling quite anxious about various things.

 

The word 'anxious'

 

It started with Storm Eunice last week. On the plus side, our half-term started a little earlier than anticipated. However, being in a red alert zone did make me quite nervous, as did some of the bigger gusts at the peak of the storm. Thankfully other than having our outside light knocked off the wall by a falling branch, we got off fairly lightly. I spent most of the day trying to push away the anxiety by focusing on doing lots of crafts with Sophie which worked fairly well.

 

Sophie’s been taking part in her second dance festival today. I am sure that I get much more nervous about these things that she does! She had a fairly quick change between her two dances which I was worrying about but it was all fine in the end (thanks to having help from her dance teacher’s amazing mum). It did make me chuckle when my Fitbit buzzed to tell me I was earning active minutes while I was sitting watching her performance – I’d been sitting down for ten minutes but my heart rate was obviously a bit on the higher side! She made me very proud – performed both her dances beautifully and got a gold medal for coming first in her solo tap section.

 

Sophie in her tap costume, holding her gold medal for 1st place

 

There have also been various other things going on beneath the surface that I’ve been feeling anxious about. Some of them have been a bit like the dance festival and been okay in the end though.

 

I rarely talk about current affairs on my blog, but the news about Russia invading Ukraine has also been making me anxious. I’ve been feeling very small and helpless watching the news whilst praying for the people of Ukraine. It’s just so awful.

 

 

 

What I’ve been grateful for this week:

 

Sophie making a lion puppet; me holding Jessica, dressed as an angel, after her Reception nativity play; daffodils in the garden; Sophie and Thomas painting cardboard hearts at the table; Sophie with Grandma out for a meal on her birthday; Sophie and Thomas with Nanny and my great-nephew; Sophie and Thomas at TinyTalk with the TinyTalk teacher - "#365daysofgratitude 2022 - Week 8"

 

  • Day 49 – I am grateful that school closures meant we didn’t have to venture out in the storm today. Sophie had some online learning to do and then spent the afternoon enjoying lots of craft time.

 

  • Day 50 – I am grateful for some ‘new’ photos and videos of Jessica that my husband found on his phone. Lovely to see a few that I hadn’t seen before and to have some of me and Jessica together too.

 

  • Day 51 – I am grateful for the daffodils that are starting to appear in the garden.

 

  • Day 52 – I am grateful for lining paper and paint aprons!

 

  • Day 53 – I am grateful for a lovely meal to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday. Sophie did a lovely job of decorating Grandma’s cake.

 

  • Day 54 – I am grateful for a day of catching up with my family.

 

  • Day 55 – I am grateful that Sophie was able to come along to TinyTalk with Thomas today. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, her or Thomas!

 

 

Other things that have made me smile this week:

  • Baking cheese scones and tea-bread for my coffee morning at church in aid of Little Hearts Matter.

 

Cheese scones and sliced tea loaf on white plates next to white mugs, cups and saucer and a coffee pot

 

  • Having some me-time and enjoying lunch with a friend.

 

  • Having a day out at Legoland with Sophie and Thomas. Thomas is now big enough to go on a few more rides which was great. Sophie particularly loved the Haunted House Monster Party ride.

 

Sophie and Thomas standing in front of a giant Lego vampire figure

 

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22 thoughts on “Friday Focus 25/02/22 – Anxious

  1. Sending love and hugs. It is rotten feeling anxious. I am glad you got through the storm OK.
    Well done to Sophie with the dance festival. It sounds like she did so well and she looks so pleased with her medal.
    It is terrifying about what is going on in Ukraine. I have been avoiding the news but have picked up bits. x

  2. I know it’s easy to say but sometimes we worry over nothing. But I do know… the storm made us worry too, not to mention the war in Ukraine! We continue to pray for the people who have found themselves in the thick of things.
    So happy your daughter did well in her dancing and grateful for helpers too.

    1. Thank you. Praying feels like pretty much all I can do with world events at the moment.

  3. I love that photo of Sophie with her medal, what a talented little girl you have. I’m sorry you have been feeling anxious, I hope it all passes over soon, at least the storms have gone.

  4. Well done Sophie on the dance festival. I know how you feel about the storm, we have some very large trees behind us which were loosing branches left right and centre, which kept hitting our windows. We did Legoland as well this week

  5. It is lovely seeing signs of spring in the garden. Sorry to hear you’ve been feeling anxious, yes I do think we worry more as parents than we need to sometimes. Well done to Sophie with her ballet. hope you all enjoyed Lego land.

  6. Sophie looks so happy at the dance festival, what a lovely picture.
    I would offer a suggestion if you don’t mind, about anxiety regarding the war. Do something, donate some money (if and what you can afford) to a charity helping them, share your support on social media if you want, send message to charities congratulating them on their work. Doing something, even small, might make you feel better. xx

    1. I think doing something does help. It is so easy to feel helpless in these kind of situations.

  7. Well done Sophie for her dance festival. Glad you got a trip to Legoland and the storms didn’t do much damage.
    I think the Ukraine situation has thrown a lot of people off.

  8. I really want to go back to Legoland now Zach is old enough to enjoy it more. Sorry you have been anxious but the big things in the world have been quite overwhelming recently! #project365

    1. They certainly have. I’m trying to find a balance between wanting to know what is going on and limiting my news exposure to make the anxiety manageable.

  9. I am glad you weren’t badly affected by the storms. It was a real worry wasn’t it. Glad that Sophie dance festival went well. The spread at the church coffee morning looks tempting! I love fundraisers like that. Fab photo from Legoland.

  10. I understand why you are feeling anxious. I am also feeling more anxious than I have ever I think. Try and be kind to yourself. Well done Sophie on winning a gold medal that’s brilliant. We tried out the haunted house on our last trip to Legoland and really enjoyed it.

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