This was our first week in our new routine. Jack and Emma have both added an additional activity which means the juggle is very real now, especially with one car. Even though it was a little chaotic and we had some long days, I am glad to be back into a routine again.
Glimmers
(Glimmers are micro-moments of joy that make us feel happy, hopeful, and safe.)
- We watched the rugby with David’s cousin and I made the most delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding.
- My Sunday walk was at a new trail, it was a nice easy walk around the Roodeplaat dam followed by a delicious breakfast.
- Eve and I had a great walk on Tuesday – it was cold and our usual trail is so dry but we are both getting so much fitter.
- I made a delicious oxtail. My neighbour has an instapot and it works so well to get the oxtail meat soft, quickly.
- Emma has started outdoor hockey twice a week and is loving it.
- The cat integration is going slow but steady. The dogs seem to want to just play but we are still a little cautious because the dogs are just so much bigger than them.
My Weekly Wisdom..
Do you talk to your neighbours?
Growing up we did but it wasn’t until a few years ago when my current neighbour moved in that we started talking to our neighbour. I don’t mean saying “hi” as you drive past but rather I mean really talking.
We lead very different lives to our neighbour (Che). They have 3 kids at school, they both work full time in traditional type jobs and they are very involved with their church. But they are also a very important part of our lives.
Che was the first person David called after we had heard about Cameron – she showed up and helped us so much in those first few hours.
I was with Che when I found out Ansie died. We cried at her dining room table together.
We borrow food from each other daily. I have a big yellow Le Creuset Dutch oven pot. It gets passed between our homes like we split custody.
My children know they can go there if they need anything and so do her kids. They have, on occasion, popped over to ask me to call their mom or help with something.
I didn’t know how important having this was until recently. Che and I would not have become friends had we not lived next door to one another but she has now become such an important part of my life, not only as a friend but as a neighbour.
I wish we ad this more. I wish neighbours spoke more and built community more. It makes life a lot richer when you have a tribe of people who are a part of your every day life in this way.
Do you have this?
Picture of the Week
I have decided to change this section up and add in my favourite photo of the week. Facebook memories sharing the sweetest memory of Cameron and I.
Wise Words of the Week
Words of the Week
I am joining up with the Word of the Week link party this week so my word for the week would have to be ROUTINE. I need routine to help me manage my anxiety and my family. When we all know where we need to be and when we all function better (especially my little ADHDer). While our time away was great, it was very much without routine and it has taken us a while to get back into it.
Until next week!
It’s so lovely that you have such a close bond with your neighbour, I think it is very rare nowadays. I say hello to my neighbours and chat to a couple of them, but it’s usually just in passing.
I understand what you mean about routine. I feel lost without one. The summer holidays have just started here in the UK, and I’m determined to keep some sort of routine to keep us all sane, especially me.
It sounds good to be back in a routine, I hope you all get used to it soon.
What lovely glimmers! Yum to the sticky toffee pudding and the it sounds like the cats are settling in well.
How lovely that you get on with your neighbours. We say hi and that’s about it. Yours sound great!
It’s lovely when you have neighbour friends. Ours are my in laws, and then we have lodgers in the other side of our house (what would have been a double garage). Our neighbours now are fab – they’re about my OH’s age, with a grand-daughter a year younger than N. They’re super chatty, and send lots of food our way, and treat N like their grandson. Growing up we lived on a new housing estate on the edge of the village and everyone knew everyone, all the kids would play out on the green, it was great to grow up there. Sad in cities when people never know their neighbours. (one shared house I lived in in Oxford, our neighbours were elderly italians, and he’d give us bottles of his homemade wine over the fence!)
Glad you are getting into a routine. That is a beautiful photo of you are Cameron. We are so lucky to have great neighbours too. Everyone shares garden produce or items. It’s the sort of community that people will ask for help if they need it and are happy to help. I count myself very lucky. Hope the cats and dogs find their rhythm together. I’m sure they will be inseparable before long.
Well done for managing a routine. I love the relationship you have with your neighbour. I had a good relationship with my neighbour in my old home, so much so I ended up marrying him! We won’t talk about how that turned out 22 years later though. Our neighbours now are really nice but very, very noisy, but they do have many family members who visit all the time and 3 children of their own. Their life reminds me of my own childhood, and maybe even the childhood of my older children. It’s been different with my younger ones since I got disabled, but before we had family and friends around all the time. I’m rambling now, sorry. I love the photo of you and Cameron x
Gorgeous photo of you and Cam. I rarely see our neighbours anymore, we were good friends with next door during covid as I was on my own and they were trying to juggle a small family and work from home, so I helped out with baby sitting when I was allowed.
My oldest friend is my old neighbour who I met in 1994, although she and her family are still in the same house, I’m now 50 miles away, but when we see one another it’s like out was only 5 mins ago. Her daughter by a bizarre coincidence is a theatre nurse and was in theatre with Stephanie the night she died and was by our side when we were informed. Neighbours truly are the greatest people.
It’s nice to get back into routines. Good luck with juggling activities. Looks like you had some beautiful views on your walks. How lovely that you have such a good friendship with your next-door neighbour and that she was so supportive when Cameron died. We don’t have that with ours – we say hello and take parcels in when needed but that’s about it. What a gorgeous photo of you and Cameron from your Facebook memories. Those wise words of the week are ones I can relate to as well. There can be so much under the surface when people appear to be coping well with things. #WotW