I lay awake last night not able to turn off! I had built up 18.5k steps so was physically really tired. Unfortunately the steps must have stimulated my brain (some scientists do call the brain a muscle!) and it had gone into overdrive!
When going to bed I had followed my usual routine of completing the easy crossword puzzle in the Telegraph, then reading my book. My husband was pondering over the cryptic crossword so muttered every now and then but there was a relaxed atmosphere in the room. I had long turned off the television sick and tired of the Brexit debate. I just wanted it over and done with so that the country could get back to normal! The news remains full of it and our MP’s are an embarrassment and need to sort themselves out once and for all!
My husband turned his light off at 11:30 pm, said goodnight and immediately rolled over and fell asleep! I carried on reading a couple more chapters before switching off my light, still wide awake. I thought I could relax my aching body and eventually drift off to sleep.
I have a family issue at the moment so worked through a few scenarios, gave up and revisited the walk with my friend earlier. We had sunshine all day with only a slight breeze. The temperature was perfect for some relatively gently exercise and the chosen route proved idyllic. The wild roses and produced their end of season hips. The brambles lining the little country lanes were heaving with red and black berries, soon to be collected for jams and crumbles. Ferns were still green as were the leaves on the majestic oaks, pines, ash, chestnut and other indigenous trees grown up over the years.
Unfortunately I didn’t linger too long over nature before moving on to the topics of our conversation. My friend and I are both quite political and follow the news . We do have the same views, which helps, but it doesn’t stop us from having heated debates over the way our government and parliament have behaved over the last few weeks! With little or no walkers on the road we could vent our spleens as loudly and with as much gusto as we liked! We had animated conversations about the prime minister, the opposition leaders, various MP’s and the Speaker of the House! Put us in charge of Brexit and it would be done and dusted by the end of this month!
Once more I tried to relax and calm down. I took a few deep breaths and moved on to our forthcoming holiday. We’ll be spending three weeks in New Zealand and two in Australia. I have never been away from home so long so went through my list of ‘what ifs’. This caused some stress and I felt as if it would be best to get up, go downstairs and read my book. But I persevered.
I moved on to my wardrobe. As explained in an earlier blog, packing is not my strong point! This time I am determined to get it right! I’ll go with two colours which should limit the amount of clothes as my choice would be restricted. So I thought about black and navy. But lime green, orange, white, silver, gold and florals all go well with both these colours. If I just packed black and navy trousers and shorts I could wear an unlimited amount of coloured tops! This brought me back to square one so decided to forget about packing until I had checked the weather. It would at least help steer me towards the type of clothing if not the amount!
I looked at the alarm clock shining brightly on my bed side table. It showed 4:10 am. I needed to get up at a respectable time as it was Wednesday and the exercise class at my mother’s care home. My friend was giving the lesson but I needed to arrange the music. I got out of bed, took my book and glasses and went downstairs. I read until 6:00 am before going back to bed. I set the alarm for 9:00 am. Ample time to arrange the music and perhaps three hours sleep! Alas, I only managed two!
But, I’ll survive! I’m not having to make any executive decisions or ensure money deposits have the right number of noughts! I also don’t have a forty minute drive to and from the office, putting up with imbeciles on the road! Life could be a lot worse! I’ll try sleeping again tonight …..👠
Jenny Burrell 