Sunflower Diaries

It’s not the journey but the destination.

Duck Bay, Loch Lomond- a very special destination. One of romantic significance for us.

Travelling through places seeing different faces, cultures, inviting smells and sounds of different nations. This is the joy of travelling.

As we travel through life we are able to experience a variety of sensory sensations that make our lives happy and fulfilled. Sometimes needing to focus on the happier memories and moments through our lives rather than the negative thoughts and experiences that we often relive. Sometimes to the point that these hurt more than the surgery we endured.

Recently I have been on a journey through menopause and it’s not easy getting back into routine after any surgery or transition from what we perceive as normal/ usual for our bodies and minds.

I have been exploring different calming and self nurturing activities to extend the positive feelings about the changes to my body and brain.

As I journeyed through menopause…I have had to adapt to my new brain. Brain fog is annoyingly part of this change. For someone who colour codes her notes/ calendars to now have to set reminders to say stop and stretch or get a cup of tea. It’s quite a change to adapt to. Although I have to say as my body has adjusted to the changes in hormone levels and HRT (mainly) I have found it a little easier to remember.

I guess it does remind me that our time (even at work) is precious. Use it wisely.

I still forget silly things like did I lock the door/ are the plugs turned off (mostly yes). However, I do find myself walking back to the door and checking…

Brain activities:
Brain puzzles and games.

Problem solving. Taking on new skills and challenges at work.

Writing on paper rather than typing each idea out. I find it sticks better especially after a long training session/ meeting, to try and document my ideas on paper before editing a live document.

Mental arithmetic before reaching for a calculator.

Breaking down problems into sizeable and manageable tasks. Stops overwhelm. Keeps you on track.

Chunking. I used the same approach to writing my Chartership application, reducing how much time I spent writing (as I was more focused). I just wrote in short bursts listening to classical music.

Colour coding. I am very organised. Some people look at me in horror when they see my outlook calendar. Projects/ administrative tasks / CPD/ working status/ personal appointments (all assigned a colour).

I also still like highlighting my notes. This could be my home desk.

A secret santa gift was origami post-it notes, I now really like origami. I have since been given more origami gifts. Great mindfulness 🧘‍♀️ activity.

Exercises:
Yoga. I am finding it hard just now. Need to get back into it.

Walking. Short- medium walk each day. Some days long ones depending on energy.

Breathing exercises.
Deep breathing and meditation.
Grounding techniques.

Focus on the present moment and being grateful 🙏 for your life as it is now.

Tai Chi. I tried this for the first time a few weeks ago. Just a video on YouTube. I quite liked it and hope to embed it into my weekly schedule.

Family time:
This one matters most. I have missed out on so much time with our little family. I cherish every moment we share together. Whether we are playing the Switch games or walking in nature … or even just sitting asking one another our thoughts and feelings this fills my cup the most. I enjoy seeing my daughter play and learning new skills.

Glasgow Science Centre- water 💧 experiments.

Just last night she was getting ready for bed and we have story time before songs and hugs, and she said I want to read the cream bottle- so she picked it up and read the letters aloud ‘A v e e n o’ and I said yes it is called ‘Aveeno’ ( no intended product placement) well done, and mummy the next word is ‘baby’ , I said correct and she proceeded to spell it aloud… then this continued on to her spelling words in her story.

Recently we have read a story about two dogs – Pancakes and Cha Cha ‘Don’t say Elephant’. So my daughter before bed spelled ‘Elephant’ and she was so happy.

She said mummy I can spell other words too. I said I am sure you can but show me another time. We agreed and finished the stories.

Take care of yourself and always remember to be kind to yourself and others. 🤗 💛 🌻