Silly season has begun…

Summer’s here in South Wales. Albeit slightly coolly. With hints of precipitation.

And July in my world is CRAZY. Ba-da-BOOM crazy. Not just the regular kind.

For context, the last bit of June was

· The thankyou party for my legendary build team – Paul Morris MCIOB ! ????

·???? sorting out my spare room (remember the build? The spare room took A LOT of hammer…) so that my sis could sleep in it when she arrived from Aus. (Mum’s taxi service swung into gear – to Manchester airport and back – with its longest service ever… ??)

·????? (Nearly) finishing a 30-Day Sprint with the human legend that is Janet Murray (I WILL get there, Janet; I will.)

·????? Working in schools

And July is

·????? Hanging out with my sis and showing her beautiful walls (we have a lot of those in Wales!) and facilitating a visit to our mum on the Wirral

·????? Hanging out with my awesome Aunt and celebrating with a party for EVERYONE – all the lovely rellies from overseas are on their way to party with us as I write

·????? Celebrating with my boys and my ex- as the little one graduates with his Masters in Law in Newcastle (and picking up a lovely piece of stained glass for my little house – excited much?!)

·????? Helping with a surprise 50th in the northwest for someone who has to remain nameless for obvious reasons?

Essentially, I’m going to be driving around 1800 miles in July!!! ????

My beleaguered ADHD brain likes zero sugar, as much routine as it can get, and plenty of solitude, thank you very much.

So now it’s all about damage limitation. I can’t do all the health that I normally try to do, so how do I look after myself to the best of my ability?

I can’t do all of it, all of the time, but I can mitigate the damage too many social/driving/food occasions will do for me, and this is how:

?? Carving out 10 measly minutes per day to be quiet and alone. Meditative. Breathing. Looking at/being in nature. I will go insane if I don’t get that.

?? Using the travel time to get brain food in the form of audiobooks and podcasts.

?? Missing a meal whenever I can. (My normal is 2 meals a day, which works for me, but social things are often meals so you just gotta roll with it, right? ????♀?) If I can miss a whole day's worth, at any point, I will.

?? Drinking lots more water than usual in the form of sparkling water at all the social gigs – coming up for 6 months booze-free, and it very much agrees with me. (Do NOT ask me the specific reason I know this!)

?? Stretching and planking at the start and end of every day.

?? Eating as many plant varieties, ferments, and as little meat, and added sugar, as possible.

?? Walking as many steps as I can, as per normal, wherever the dog may be…!

And I’m thinking about how I might make a Bircher muesli constantly available, wherever I might be… Hmmm. All suggestions gratefully received on this score! ???

Summer is mental.

It always was, and it probably always will be. (When I was a teacher, it was 6 weeks of completely the opposite of work, so no routine whatsoever, and whatever social events were suggested, I did, with no knowledge of anything I actually needed to keep myself happy, balanced, and well. I HATED IT. ????)

Now I have balance, mostly (ok, sometimes…) and choice. But when the sunshine hits the fan and the social diary goes mental, I know how to make the choices that work better for me.

If you want any help with that, let me know – I’m here (or in Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, or Scotland, at any rate…) for it!

Have a wonderful summer, you lot! ??

p.s. In August, I'm AT HOME. Doing yoga and eating very little. ?? Digging my pond. Got a spade? Wanna help? Gimme a shout. ??