What Not To Worry About #20

Happy Tuesday! I really enjoyed those little cluster of long weekends we've been having this past month. Not that I have been doing anything overly spectacular with my time but it's the ordinary little things that have been making me happy recently. Spending lots of time with family and friends. Enjoying lazy mornings on the couch drinking lots of tea and writing. Going for mini adventures somewhere local. And sunshine!! It took me a long time to appreciate the mundane because throughout most of my twenties I was seeking the extraordinary. The adrenalin from new experiences, new faces and new landscapes. As my twenties are dwindling I am able to appreciate the predictable moments because they are spent with the people who I want to be boring with. That is home to me. And even if I wander again I will always be brought back to the the ordinary moments that make my heart happy. Last weekend my family assembled to help my Granny Una celebrate her 90th birthday. We piled in to my aunt Susie's and ate the most amazing food (there were about a million desserts) and I held a wine glass that never seemed to empty. The house was full of stories; some I've never heard before but most I have heard hundreds of times. We all sat around in a circle at the end of the night taking turns to play the bard and sharing jokes - a traditional end to an Irish gathering where I usually flounder because I am terrible at remembering jokes. It was a great night to be surrounded by But my favourite part of the evening was the quick chat I had with Una in between the photos we were all competing for. As to be expected on her 90th birthday she was feeling particularly reflective and she told me of her time in the Women's Royal Navy, the most cherished years of her life. She talked of living in Egypt. How she still remembers hearing the music from her camp near the Suez Canal and the heat that seemed so different to the Irish sun. After three years in the WRN's as a morse code operator she had to return home to look after her elderly mother. A decision she now says was both the best and worst of her life. It changed everything for her. I will cherish that conversation for the rest of my days because I saw in her more than just my grandmother. She was a wild one once and she too had that unwillingness to settle for the ordinary. She had hopes and dreams just like I do now. She was unsure of her choices and the path she was supposed to take. I felt closer to her than I ever have. This week I am choosing to let go of a few things but mostly I want to remind myself that I don't have to have it all figured out. It's OK with not knowing it all for now. Here's a few of them... Not Remembering Jokes As said above I am shite at remembering jokes and quietly seethe with jealousy when people can roll a dozen off their tongue. How can you fit all of them inside your brain?! Remembering to brush my teeth is enough of a challenge. Forgetting To Brush My Teeth Until I'm all cosy in bed. It's the worst when I get all snuggly and then realise that I don't taste minty and then I have to drag myself from the cosiness. Personal hygiene is such a nuisance sometimes. Crap Lunch I'm trying to be really good and not spend money on lunches in work but sometimes it's just plain sad when all you have is a few spinach leaves and tomatoes. Even a jam sandwich seems exciting these days. Sunglasses I will never complain of sunshine. NEVER. But because I live in Ireland it means I am always unprepared for the good days and always have to fish out sunglasses from the year before which are never there because I always lose them. Why are sunglasses so hard to retain? Of all my accessories they have the shortest lifespan. Or gloves. Damn seasons. Never Having Change I've fully embraced the modern life and use my card everywhere I go. It isn't until I am in a carpark or a charity asks for money that I am reminded that people still carry coins. Why can't everything just be a tap away from payment? Coins are cumbersome and just make you jingle so they should be altogether eradicated. And that's a wrap! Enjoy the rest of your week folks!