Me and Mine – September 2016

September has been a month of adjustment. After an amazing August in France, the last few weeks have been ordinary and busy as we have settled into being back. I still remember that feeling, that surge of familiarity as we pulled onto the drive, the utter joy and calm as we fell into our own bed after so long. As we sunk into the mattress, felt the clean crisp sheets and my head hit my very own pillow in almost slow motion to start the best nights sleep ever. I welcomed the click of an electric kettle which only takes 2 minutes to boil, to drink water from the tap again became a relief and to turn on the television and be greeted by a language I fully understand!

There is absolutely nothing like travelling, experiencing different cultures, soaking in the adventures and given half the chance I would be jetting off somewhere new every month. But there is definitely something in that saying “There’s no place like home”.

The ‘new again’ feeling has now subsided and made way for contentment. I am not sad to be back and whilst September has been decidedly less exciting than the last, it has also been very lovely. Ordinary, but lovely. We have settled back into the school routine (although I still hate the school run and it is possible that I will never ever learn to love it!), have been enjoying lots of lovely days outside enjoying the last of the mild weather and Eva especially is excited to watch the British Bake Off again.

I guess it hasn’t been all been that ordinary. Roma is absolutely loving her new big bed and this in turn seems to be improving the sleep situation which is amazing. I have made a huge decision to leave my current job and am so excited to take that step and see what life brings.

I for one have loved this ordinary and as much as we all get on each others nerves some days, we bicker and crave just a minute by ourselves. When all is said and done I realise that we are also pretty awesome and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. We make each other laugh, know one another inside and out and can be our true selves, no show, no pretense, just us. For me these people are perfect, of course none of us are actually that but when there is something to be sad about, or something to celebrate I want to do it with them. To close the door and shut the rest of the world out because my whole world is right here.

It seems apt then that this months photos were taken at some gardens 2 minutes away from our house. It is somewhere we go quite often, it is a huge space to ride bikes, for the children to run around and also to really see the seasons change. We go to see the daffodils in spring, enjoy the bright flowers and sunshine in summer and now as the leaves begin to fall we get excited about crunching in them, collecting conkers and look at the beautiful sea of autumn colours.

At the weekend we headed down there to collect leaves for craft and take these photos. As usual they are not exactly perfect. There were moments that one or the other was grumpy, where they didn’t want photo’s or where the wind blew the willows in our faces and then we somehow lost sight of the littlest in the tree! These photos are never easy but they are always worth it.

September might have been mostly ordinary but I will take that and cherish it. Because sometimes life is ordinary.

Sometimes ordinary, always ours.

xx