I did it. I gave Little A the best summer ever. Probably my greatest achievement this year, I think. We grew courgettes and tomatoes and sweetcorn. We even grew butterflies - bright red admirals - setting them free in the garden. One crawled up her arm, stretching its orange wings before it disappeared among the branches of the silver birch. A magical moment. And there was the festival, the holiday, and numerous play dates, and a brand new trampoline. But then, for me, there was also the tooth extraction. Not the tooth which had become infected back in June (and which I still haven't done anything about). No, not that one. The tooth directly above it. After a week of tender gums, the dentist declared that the crack in the tooth (what crack!?) was so bad, my poor tooth was beyond repair. So out it came, in pieces. I didn't feel a thing, only tugging; not unlike having a c-section. 'Do you want to keep your tooth?' she asked. 'Er, no,' I replied. Little A was subjected to the entire medieval procedure, but she found it fascinating, and afterwards incessantly requested view after view of the bloodied gap in my mouth. Nice. 'Wow,' she gasped, 'it's huge!' This has categorically not been a good summer for my dentures.
And I did it (again). I had a wonderful two month break away from blogging and most of social media. What a breath of fresh air. When I had the chance, I worked on my novel and read a good book (or two). The most relaxed I've felt in a long while. And happy. I saw my life from a different perspective, reevaluated my priorities, and I made a promise to myself; that upon my return in September I was going to spend a lot less time on the likes of Twitter and Facebook, and blogging. Oh I will still continue to write posts, just not as often as before, or just when the urge really takes me. I need to focus on my other writing aims (or I'll never get them finished), and there just aren't enough hours in the day....
Still, it's great to be back.
This is the final day of my One Week series. Due to the amount of work involved, I've decided not to run this series as a linky anymore, but please feel free to join in if you want to... Thank you for reading!
Well done! Apart from the teeth this sounds like a perfect summer. Wishing you a successful academic year for both of you and I look forward to reading about it when you feel the inclination. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt was a particularly good summer this year :o). And so far, Little A is loving her new school. Can't quite believe the summer is drawing to a close... X
DeleteGlad you had a good summer. I had a whole week off social media and it was wonderful. Blogging is having to take the back burner at the moment as having a tough time. Xx
ReplyDeleteI did, thank you very much! I'm sorry to hear you are having a tough time of it at the moment, and I hope you are okay, and taking care of yourself. X
DeleteLovely to have you back, albeit not as often. That's the best way to blog in my book - when its right, not because we have to keep something up. You're so right to try and keep social media and blogging on a long leash. Good luck with that (there isn't a yellow face for the face I'm pulling!). No honest, of course you can do it. To achieve our longer goals, we sometimes have to say no to the short term ones - they're a bit like toddlers, aren't they?! PS Love the photo
ReplyDeleteYes, I really, really want to make it quality over quantity now, and anyway, I'm just not interested in things like stats anymore...... I'll just set a little time each day for all the social media stuff. I love how you likened short term goals to toddlers. And glad you liked the photo! :o)
DeleteWelcome back lovely. So happy to hear you had a perfect summer x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! That's very kind.... and summer was particularly lovely this year. X
DeleteSounds like an amazing summer break! Except for the dentist trip, obviously. I've had that done before too...not nice! It is really refreshing to take a break from social media and blogging. I intended to reduce my time on it for the summer too, mainly blogging as it can take so long. It was all going so well, really working, and then along came end of July and a certain Pilates class!!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to have you back :-) xx
I did lovely lady; this summer was vintage! And yes, I'd never expected that to happen at the dentists - well, at least it's done now :o). I can't believe that injury happened at Pilates, and unfortunately that's the kind of thing you want, nay need, to blog about - hope you are feeling better now! X
DeleteSo much to be said for a break from social media/blogging - just on line really.
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back.
I felt so relaxed without it all. And it's good to be back! :o)
DeleteI had exactly the same with my tooth - a crack, and the feeling that the whole process was not dissimilar to childbirth! Good on you for taking such a well-deserved break. Being plugged in all the time can really boggle the mind....
ReplyDeleteYes, having a tooth pulled out was very odd indeed, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be..... feeling good after the break though! Social media does have a tendency to frazzle the brain!
DeleteAnother wonderful series of posts OM - just loved every one of them. Well done on relaxing and giving Little A the best summer ever. I'm really pleased with what we achieved too. Having aims worked well for us and one of those was just to enjoy each other's company which I think we did. Don't disappear too far please! x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, and touched that you read all of them! The relaxing was great and what a difference it made. And great to hear that you got done the things you needed to as well. I won't be disappearing that far :o) X.
DeleteWelcome back! Am jealous of your break and kind if wish I'd dine the same. Your summer sounds great, bar the tooth thing x
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's good to be back.... my summer was great but now I have to spend a small fortune on my mouth. X
DeleteI've missed you, so I'm very, very pleased you're back here and will still continue to blog. I can totally understand the liberation of doing something that our blogging life blacks out sometimes. It takes courage to walk away from a thriving blog and re-evaluate where you want to go from here! I've been largely AWOL too, moved cities again and have returned with different eyes. I think in so many ways, with a bit more courage and a clearer voice...Loved the sound of your summer- barring the tooth episode. I hope you're better with that and it'll be sorted out soon. Much love! x
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be back and of course I will continue to blog.... just maybe not so much; it was getting tiring churning out post after post, and I would like to be a little freer with it all now. You've moved again? Where are you living now?.... unfortunately, I am about to spend an inordinate amount of money on my teeth this autumn - why can't they just grow back like hair? X
DeleteLovely to have you back :) and yes there never are enough hours in the day!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to be back.... even with Little A at school now, I'm still having to organise my time carefully!
DeleteAnd it is great to have you back. :) I find these digital breaks so refreshing too, it sounds like you really enjoyed your summer with Little A (well, apart from the tooth, obviously). Here is to your writing goals! :) xx
ReplyDeleteI had such a lovely summer with Little A ..... we had so much fun together. I want to make sure all summers are special with her. And thank you re. writing goals - it's time to crack on! X
DeleteWould love to try growing butterflies - that sounds amazing. Sorry to hear about the tooth. I really should go to the dentist but as I get older I am getting slightly more dentist phobic… Lovely to read one week again. Always beautifully crafted posts. x
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely.... we got a little kit, and the tiny grubs were sent in the post - it was very straight forward, this is where we got them from http://www.insectlore.co.uk/. No, I'm not a fan of the dentist either, especially after this summer! X
DeleteSo sorry to see another tooth problem, you poor thing! Your blog is yours to do with what you will. We're all here and pleased you are moving on with your AWARD WINNING writing, just as you should be my dear and I like to rush to a post that drops in my inbox when they don't come in very often! Looking forward to hearing about your next ventures and very best wishes with them dear lovely lady! X
ReplyDeleteI know!!!! What a run of bad luck LOL. I will have to get it all sorted out this autumn *shudders with dread*. It's good to be back on the blog though - I do love the community! Thank you lovely lady. X
DeleteAnd it's great to have you back.Nothing like some time away to help re-evaluate your priorities x
ReplyDeleteThank you my dear...... it is good to be back. And having time away is very good for the soul X.
DeleteGood luck with your writing adventures! Your summer really does sound lovely! Sorry about the dentists though!! :/ xx
ReplyDeleteThank you..... I'm really getting back into it again now :o). And it was a particularly good summer this year.... the dentists sucked! X
DeleteSounds like an amazing summer (apart from the tooth!). I have given up on trying to keep up to date with social media, I just can't keep up with twitter anymore, lost my blogging motivation too so it was lovely to have a break from it over the summer. Lovely to see you back and hope school is going well xx
ReplyDeleteIt was a really great summer this year.... bit of a mare with my teeth though. Like you, I'm going to blog when the time is right; I find too much social media a bit of a headache - I'd rather spend time doing other things, like living! Thank you, and so far, Little A is loving school. X
DeleteWhat a wonderful achievement to give your little one the best summer ever. I think I need to make that my sole aim for next summer. All the best with focusing on your book writing. Mich x
ReplyDeleteThank you.... like you, that's going to be my aim every summer now :o). I want her to remember what fun summers she always had. X
DeleteIt's hard unhooking from social media, but so worthwhile, as your wonderful summer proves ( - tooth!) Did me the power of good having a blogging break, though it's been a bit longer than planned with our tricky old broadband! Finding now I just don't have the same urge to go back to the way it was. Maybe time to slow the blogging down and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteAlways a joy catching up with you, whenever xx
I've had the same feeling as you after the summer break, and especially since I've been blogging over three years now - that my urge isn't as strong; although I do still enjoy it and plan to write posts when the feeling really takes me. Blogging breaks are good though! Great to see you back on the blog too! X
DeleteGetting the right balance of living and blogging is so tricky. I only blog twice a month as you know, which is nowhere enough to grow my blog, and I get horribly frustrated that I spend the best part of a day writing a blog only for nobody to read it! At the same time, I'm aware of how it could easily take over if you let it, especially the social media side of things, and I just don't feel I can justify the time. Your summer sounds lovely btw (except for the rogue tooth). In fact, the unseasonably lovely weather means that I'm only just starting to feel that it's actually over.xx
ReplyDeleteI've decided the best time to blog is when I really feel like it. Recently, it's almost become like a job. That's why I decided to take a break, and now I've come back and Little A has started school, like you, I can't really justify the time on social media. The blog can only be a hobby - I need to start thinking about returning to work in some way *boo*. And my summer was fab! X
DeleteWow it sounds like a really wonderful break and well worth breaking away from social media for. I really need to do something similar. I've become much better but I think a complete switch off would be great! Best of luck with your novel, it will be a fantastic read I bet!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great break, thank you very much: a vintage summer. I can highly recommend a complete switch off. And thank you, I reckon it'll be years before I'm finished.
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