Spikey

1. My day started with a truly gorgeous bunch of flowers, hand delivered by my mum this morning. It was bucketing with rain and this cloud of purple and perfume and posies filled the house. My mum in a drookit purple parka and the flowers about half her size. It was a burst of colour and smiles on a grey, wet Monday morning.

2. The bouquet is a really lovely mix and I found myself drawn to the thistles tonight. I remember Dave, my colleague in my last job called me 'thistley' as a nickname. Apparently I can be a little spikey sometimes. I am thinking so much about my mum tonight. If she were one of the bunch, she'd be that big daisy; open, bright and cheery. Like sunshine.

3. My mum's pride in me is something that I should never, ever take with a pinch of salt. The big things, the small things, the nice outfits or hair shining, she is on hand to tell me, sometimes with a big punch of flowers sometimes with just a smile. There has never, ever been a time when mum has walked in to a room to find me and not smiled. Not once.

4. My mum and I love Leon Redbone. We love his music and like nothing more than 'drinking hot jasmine' tea and singing low and giggling.

5. I am so glad to be writing this journal. To capture the little acts of kindness that make a day special is something I think will be invaluable as time goes on. That's really all there is; a burst of colour on a grey and wet Monday morning. Sunshine.