Summer Leave in Review

This is the last day of my 4 weeks of summer leave. It's back to work for me tomorrow (although this week will be a light one; not all my clients - I'm a freelancer - are back to full strength til after the long weekend, so I'm expecting to only do about 3 - 3.5 days worth of work rather than the full 5).

It's been a pretty good time, and definitely had some wins in it. My eldest's surgery getting done and being a success has been a huge relief, and it was ideal that I was free to do the required running about and caretaking for that. I cleared off a bunch of medical/specialist appointments for me and the youngest kid too, which starts the year off fresh. My big kitchen clean-out, while not fully complete (I haven't tackled the pantry yet), has really transformed the experience of cooking and using the kitchen, and although I am sure it will devolve towards chaos again, starting from a clean baseline feels really positive.

I have been able to do some creative projects (my annual Month of Poetry challenge and starting this very blog), which has been very welcome, and of course have indulged in reading a luxurious amount , something I will miss as the demands of work kick back in. (Obviously I'll still read every day, just not as much!) 

I went to the beach and I went on long walks, pottered in the garden, and did some baking. I tried a couple of new recipes for family dinners (mixed reviews, but you have to try!) I spent time with extended family.

I had a few (not many, but all delightful) friend social engagements scattered across the 4 weeks of leave. I have also planned out and booked all my social / cultural / work engagements, travel, and events for the first half of the year, which gives me both a sense of anticipation and some comfort that I have an idea of what's in prospect. There is some great stuff coming up: several concerts and plays; dinners with friends; a long weekend away for our wedding anniversary; a 4-day camping trip to a friend's country property; a girls' weekend away with some of my oldest friends; monthly book club. Even the work travel is something to look forward to, because I have arranged to catch up with friends and family in both the cities that I need to go for work. 

I posted on Facebook on 1 January that I had four New Year's intentions: to restart blogging (check); to walk at least 45,000 steps every week (so far, achieved); to reduce my use of social media after January / Month of Poetry finishes (pending!); and to read 100 new to me books in 2025 (I'm at 9 already for the year, so that's going well at this stage). So, overall, the 4 weeks of leave has been put to good effect. 

From tomorrow, I will resume my former working week pattern of using social media each day but only outside of business hours, til 31 January which is when Month of Poetry finishes. Once February kicks off, I am going to really try to reduce my frequency a lot more. 

For now, I will stay on Facebook, because it is the main way I stay in touch with family and friends and also where my poetry and book club groups live, but I will be trying to use it much less often. I plan to phase out Threads altogether, and won't replace it with any of the alternatives - I think my life will be quieter without a Twitter-style app in it. I was part of Twitter in its heyday, and I'd rather just have fond memories of that instead of trying to flog a horse that is not just dead, but increasingly starting to rot in front of our eyes. This blog will be my main writing space, especially for book content.

Onwards and upwards, hey!