What I wouldn’t give to have the heart and mind of a child again … even for just one day. The huge joy they get out of so little is staggering.  My littlest one, was eating her toast and cheese just now and she picked up a postcard that had come in the post that morning.  On the card there were two monkeys, dressed in clown suits, on bicycles, kissing (so many animal rights issues in just one sentence!).  Well, she just exploded with laughter and proceeded to tell me how “seafóideach” the monkeys were.  And this description of the silly monkeys went on for at least five minutes, after which she left the table, still giggling, to go do some important colouring in her new colouring book.  Her day could not get any better.  Those monkeys have set her up for the rest of the evening.  It doesn’t matter what went wrong before this moment … all is forgotten and life is flippin brilliant. 😃

Mammy on the other hand, is having a slump day … now stop laughing! I know some of  you may think that I have been having a slump week, month … but since we last met I have been busy! Got that essay done and submitted, polished up two other assignments and fired them in, travelled to Dublin (twice) to sort passports, journeyed to Wales for a mountain trail challenge (organised by a gorgeous specimen of a man, who is unfortunately off the market ladies!), worked a few shifts, and kept my children alive and the house relatively clean. So I have not, as you may have suspected, been sitting on my arse picking my bellybutton fluff and watching daytime tv!

And then today comes.  D-Day for the 14 week countdown to the August deadline for the 70k word count.  Today is the day all the magic begins again.  And yet, today, I would love nothing more than to put on my pjs and curl up with a cuppa and some chocolate in front of the fire.  I think the manic adrenalin that has kept me motoring for the past few weeks has finally worn off.  And as I write this I feel like a burnt out junkie, on a massive downer after a fantastic high! But, unlike little people, who bounce back with only the help of clown clad, cycling monkeys, I am entering the dangerous territory of giving up on everything cos everything is shit and I’m never going to do this and what is the bloody point anyway….blah blah blah blah…

I have decided, however, to haul my ass out of this territory smart quick.  I have a choice. I always have a choice and sometimes it is only a choice of attitude.  I can change my attitude, or at the very least fight it.  I can chose to sit down and write today.  I can chose to try.  “Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure” (George E Woodberry).

So today I’m with my little person and I’m with the monkeys …  let’s get this party started!

D x