Me and Mine – May 2022

I’m quite late sharing my ‘Me and Mine’ post – the end of May ran away with me with performing in a show and a very busy half-term. It was so good to be back on stage again though and I’ve really enjoyed having some time for myself doing something I love. I’ve been very grateful for the support from my mum and my mother-in-law helping out with childcare for rehearsals and shows, especially as my husband was away working on and off throughout May. He had his first work trip abroad since Covid and it was a little stressful all round. We’ve all got used to him being away much less and it’s taken some adjusting to settle back into ‘flying solo’ mode again.

I’d originally planned to take our May family photo at my niece’s wedding, but work-commitments meant my husband wasn’t able to make it, so we went for a quick snap in the back garden. It sums up family life really, making the most of the moments when we are all together even if they’re just quick, snatched moments.

May is my birthday month so we’ve enjoyed lots of family time this month – visiting my twin sister to celebrate our birthdays together, having Nanny come to stay for the show weekend and then visiting family over half-term and seeing them at my niece’s wedding. I don’t often get to have quite that much time with my family so it was lovely to have time with them.

As with most months, we’ve also had the ups and downs that come with living with grief. Birthdays are always bittersweet, plus we’ve also had the anniversary of Jessica’s funeral and all the memories that come in the run-up to that, plus a couple of moments from unexpected triggers that caught me by surprise. The ebb and flow of grief is very much a part of our normal life, but the moments that catch you off-guard are always the harder ones to deal with.

There have been lots of fun family moments too: dance festivals, birthday parties, our usual weekly activities, days out at half-term and the ordinary little moments of snuggles on the sofa and trips to the park. With June bringing the start of Thomas’s last half-term at preschool, we’re approaching the end of an era of family life and I’m aware how precious these last weeks before my last baby starts school are. No doubt they will go all too quickly, but we’ll do our best to make the most of them while they last.