Dog days

And so Christmas is over for another year and we are enjoying that wonderful but weird in-between period before New Year when there is still too much chocolate around but not enough motivation yet to throw the remainder away! In fact it's not too bad if I consider what the alternative could be. I've had the pleasure of lots of long walks with various friends and family over the past couple of weeks, and alongside that I've run or been to yoga every day this week. While I'm certainly not losing the pounds I should at least be maintaining a balance of sorts.

Today has been a great example. Abi and I went to Westonbirt (along with about a million other people) and met Mum and Dad, Amanda, Alex and the boys and Simon and Audrey plus ALL the dogs - six of them in total! This is a massive thing for Bertie - he's not done something like this before so to go from the recent walking where we do meet people but in relatively small numbers, to Westonbirt on one of the busiest days of the year is huge. He must have greeted over 100 dogs today and while we had a bit of angst to start with before he was allowed off the lead (the first thing we did was try and get him to sit quietly while we had a cup of coffee), once he had a chance to get his space and greet other dogs normally he was a complete star for the entire time we were there. We walked for a couple of hours and he charged around with the other dogs and had an absolute ball - I am very proud of him. I think he is officially starting to properly rehabilitate after his few years in a social wilderness.

The last few days have been so nice - getting up at a sensible time, pottering around doing bits and

pieces, seeing friends, getting a few things sorted at home and so on. I know I only have one week to go before the onslaught of a new job but it's been very helpful having my new laptop so I can see what I'm heading into. Having sight of my diary is particularly important - I've already been able to speak to my new PA and tell her how I like my day to be structured and so I can see already that she's blocked time for me to get away for my Thursday yoga class and work from home on a Friday - little things like this make all the difference. The new, improved commute also means I can catch a slightly later train and while I've been toying with the idea of going in earlier, I keep reminding myself that this isn't necessary and the extra 30 mins in bed before 6am every day is far more valuable to my overall health, well being and therefore stamina. My primary 2020 resolution is to be kinder to myself on things like this so I should start as I mean to go on!

The flip side of all this relaxation is of course we are all out of routine and getting the kids to get motivated is doubly difficult. Abi has been pretty good - she has her animals to create some structure and has also started to do a bit of running on the treadmill which is brilliant. Izzy on the other hand would happily spend all day in her pyjamas watching YouTube and eating rubbish and then wonders why she's grumpy. She also got royally told off for going to Mia's for a sleepover and coming home so tired she was still in recovery mode on Christmas Day. She has subsequently been banned from staying over until she learns it's just not acceptable to keep yourself awake all night. She thinks I'm being unfair but I don't like having to deal with the emotional fall out of an overtired 11 year old. If I'm honest of the two of them it feels like she is the one on the hormonal roller-coaster right now rather than Abi. If I think back then that makes some sense - I'm sure Abi was more volatile at this point as well. As I've said more than once, the great thing about 2 kids is one of them is generally up when the other is down! Oh the joys - at least that is one reason to look forward to a new school term starting!

Post Westonbirt - one very tired dog!