So, the Christmas festivities are over and it’s back to normality, with my body a little heavier to drag along and my pockets a little lighter. I’ve had the time to relax and recharge in the warm familiar nest of moltohappy home, I’ve praised myself for having survived and succeeded another year and collected my prizes from beneath the tree. I’ve also had the time to drag out the dusty scales of life and balance out the pros-and-cons of where I am – weighing up the done and the to do – an exercise that isn’t always as easy and fulfilling as one would like.

So, here I am with an array of post-Christmas good intentions and New Year’s resolutions that can easily overload one’s self-expectations and I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds that despite being only 2 days into ‘reality’ I am already 2 days behind schedule! As a child I remember my grandmother, overwhelmed with the chores of a dedicated working wife and mother looking up to the sky and screaming with laughter, “Stop the world! I want to get off!”.
I now understand exactly what she meant…

I, for one, realise that I need time (not to mention the effort and resources…) to face certain issues, to follow my dreams, to grow-up, move on and to tackle the difficulties thrown at me along the way, but how do you channel your energies into one particular problem when there are a million-and-one other things going on?

If I could put some problems on the back burner, I’d have time for the more important ones. If I could just turn-down some voices, I’d be able to hear the others better. If I could stop the world from spinning, I’d be able to gather and recompose myself, tidy a few things away, and begin again. Only it’s not quite that easy. Life keeps spinning faster, I get dizzier and dizzier, the problems intermingle and the voices are all shouting over each other to be heard.

So there is little to do other than try another of nanny’s aphorisms – one which she taught me as a post-party trick - “When you lie down in bed and the rooms starts spinning, put one foot on the floor and you’ll see, it stops!”. Thanks nan! I may not be able to stop or get off this merry-go-round of life, but at least I’ve found a way to slow it down and sleep through it - and with any luck the answers will come to me in my dreams!

dw