Bank holidays, bees and back to work

Long weekends are lovely but for me, dodging Sunday night blues means getting hammered by Monday night nerves. Ridiculous, because my logical brain knows everything's where it should be, planned out and under control. Alas my bank holiday brain refuses to accept there isn't going to be some crisis waiting for me as soon as I log-on. That's assuming I can remember my password.

Unsurprisingly, there was no crisis (of course there wasn't). I didn't even have to look up my password, I remembered it (of course I did).

Being back at work this week has been about seeing friendly faces, reconnecting with colleagues, catching up on where we are with our projects and brainstorming ideas for future comms. But the best bit was sharing what we'd all got up to over the long weekend.

Our weekend was quiet actually, a bit of calm before the storm because this is the week A-Levels and G.C.S.Es start. The intensity of revision in our home is palpable, broken only by scheduled X-Box breaks to release the tension. I remember I was the worst reviser. I would literally do anything else to avoid it. I spent the summer of exams lying in the sun listening to my sports Walkman (an ancient, tape-based listening device for any Millenials or Gen Zs reading this) and pretending to study. My dog literally ate my chemistry text book.

Even though our two boys have their wobbles, I'm proud they're knuckling down and giving it their all. I shall watch from the sidelines, sending cringy 'good luck' gifs and trying to be as supportive as possible without nagging (I said trying), and hope they achieve the grades they've worked so hard for.

Spring is the time of year when bees decide to swarm and I've been watching my hives like a hawk for plans of an impending departure. When you spot the unmistakeable peanut-shaped Queen cells descending from the sides of a frame, you know you're on borrowed time. So far we've caught two swarms and our flowerbed apiary has doubled in size!

If I've learned one lesson, it's to enjoy the luxury of a long weekend rather than worry about what's around the corner when I get back to the office.

There are so many small blessings in my life right now that I'm grateful for.

?? The sun is shining

?? The To Do list is under control

?? The team is back together

?? The kids are revising

?? The bees are happy.

May is off to a strong start. ??

#storytelling #culture #communication #employeeengagement #exams #bees

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Louisa Houghton is a storyteller and employee engagement specialist. She's also many other things, including bee keeper, guitar player and German Shepherd despairer (if that wasn't a thing, it is now). Louisa is all about keeping it real and dispensing with the fluff. She is a firm believer in the extraordinary everywhere. Magic can always be found if you look for it.

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