Combatting the cold

Tess came home from school with a full-blown cold. It's weird because she seemed fine this morning.
Despite that we made her go for a walk on the cold beach with us because it was such a beautiful evening, and you have to grab every ounce of daylight at this time of year.

She really cheered up while we were out, cartwheeled around and talked about what she wanted for tea. She's had an early night tonight and I've sprinkled Olbas Oil all around her.


I've had a couple of quiet weeks. I've spent all my adult life feeling there was something wrong with quiet weeks and not getting out much, but now I see nothing wrong with it at all. I'm never bored and I'm never doing nothing. Being at home suits me just fine. I find loads of things to do all the time.
Richard went surfing so I spent an hour gardening. I never want to garden at this time of year - I hate the seemingly endless mess and jobs, and the cold weather is a real turn off, but in the end I never regret it. I've also played the flute a lot recently, read more than usual (I find it difficult to relax into books normally), and thought about how an aspie can do Christmas without having too many anxiety attacks. This will be my first Christmas as an aspie, and it's a relief to look at how my own personal expectations of myself have turned it into a massive ordeal for years, and how I don't have to have those expectations. I will of course continue to have them because I can't stop being me and being anxious and having high expectations but I know what's making me like this now. I've made a few things this week and written lots of lists so I can see how I am much more productive than I've given myself credit for in the past.


Recently I've been thinking a lot about a couple of different girls I knew when I was a teenager. They were both really intelligent, academic, artistic and musical. They both spoke openly of their ambitions to have a home and a family above all else. I can't remember if I said anything to either of them but I know I would have been one of the ones who thought that wasn't enough. I know I would have thought they were unambitious, and I'm sure I thought they should have had higher aspirations.
Now I know I was wrong. And I know that was what I wanted too, all along.

Finding what makes you feel complete and being honest about it (especially to yourself) is life-changing. I'm changing mine - mostly in my head - but it means I've been sleeping a lot better recently.

And sod being busy in the winter when you don't have to be!