Aloha Sprinklerinos,
(Little Notice - If you are in London today, I will be in Waterstones Piccadilly at 6.30pm giving a talk and Q&A session to celebrate my Sprinkle of Glitter 2016 Diary. Tickets are available HERE and I'd love to see you.)
"If this were any other day, you'd be a broken woman by now"- Hazel Hayes describing my day haha.
So things didn't get off to a good start.
Matt was going to collect Darcy at 7.30am to take her to school. Usually I take her on a Monday but arrangements were shifted about a bit because he had plans the night before and yadda yadda long story short, I slept through my alarm. 7.38am and there he is, knocking on the door whilst Darcy and I are still fast asleep.
Morning panic ensues with me trying to get a sleepy kiddo dressed and ready for school as fast as possible, all whilst Matt is waiting and getting later and later for work. I felt so awful. I think I sent about three different apology messages!
After a rare night of being up and down (Darcy woke up several times wanting a drink or a cuddle or whatever else) I was pooped so decided to go back to sleep for a couple of hours and make the most of my morning off. Nope. The washing-machine-fixing-man arrived at 9am and so he had the lovely sight of me bleary eyed in a dressing gown whilst he fixed the machine and very kindly told me I'm an idiot and all I needed to do was clear out the filter now and then. Who even knew there was a filter to clear?? Not me.
Just time for a quick wash and face sort and I had two more house related appointments and a bunch of emails under my belt. My Darcy & Me blog post was drafted, I uploaded the Pink Hair Story video, check all my social platforms, sorted out some details for a future video with a clothing company, planned my travel logistics for tomorrow (or your 'today') and it was time to dash out for my nail appointment. An oasis of calm. I do so love Chloe my nail lady. It's an hour just to chitchat about nothingness and fill her in on life bits and hear all of hers and watch my nails be made pretty. Well worth the £20 if you ask me!
Back in the car, a quick stop in Waitrose to pick up some sour cream (and then fifty other things that I didn't really need but hot damn I'll be glad of the 'perfectly ripe' avocados in the morning) and I was back in the car to collect Darcy from school. Never has a woman felt more smug than me when I was 5 minutes early at the school gate. Look at me other Mum's! I've got this school run thing down too!! I also am a together woman who can stand here casually reading the notice board and smiling about nothing! Yes! Here I am! I'm bloody doing it!!!
Darcy was full to the brim with excitement. There had been a 'fire malarm' and they'd all had to stand outside in their PE kits in the rain. She was soggy and exhilarated. I was sort of pumped for it too. In the car home I was regaled of how the 'malarm' went 'wooowoooowooooowoooowooo' and the 'whoooollleeeeee school even the big girls' stood in the rain outside. Big time drama, big time happies.
Home and dinner (rice and chili with the sour cream) and cuddles. Darcy requested Home Alone 2 (great taste kiddo, great taste) and we watched it together snuggled up for a solid 23 minutes before her attention wained and she went upstairs to play, 'discos'.
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I tinkered about on my video upload and once it was live, stepped away from my laptop and popped across the road to my neighbour's house for a chitchat and to let Darcy run wild with her daughter's. Sometimes just 10 minutes away from a screen or your own house can really lift your mood. I wasn't feeling down but the day was hectic and that was the first time I really let go and breathed.
Home again and by now my ironing had been delivered. OK, let's talk about this. Ironing services. Amazing things. When my washing machine broke last week, I was in a bad place. I'd not kept on top of the laundry, clean garments were low in stock and Darcy was down to her last few pairs of clean knickers. I rang a local laundry service and voila, one night last week a nice lady comes round and takes my crumpled up stuff away. A weekend later and a few pounds down, there it is, in my porch in vacuum packed bags, washed and ironed like some kind of domestic dream. I was utterly thrilled by this whole process. I think even more so than Darcy with the fire 'malarm'. I've promised myself I'm not going to do this again and that now my machine is fixed (and I know about filters), I won't splurge on this luxury but wow, everything was so lovely. I felt so able to live my life knowing my laundry was in ship shape order. Let's see how soon I'm addicted shall we?
After I'd put it all away, Darcy had FaceTimed her Dad and I'd read 3 bedtime stories and sung a lullaby (Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme tune counts right?), I popped back downstairs to see how my video was getting on.
I was blown away by this community's generosity. I've never asked for charity like this so I wasn't sure how it would all go but oh my, it was amazing. My JustGiving page is currently at £7,081.83 of the £10,000 goal and it's only 9.20pm on Monday night as I write this. That's incredible. That will make a difference. I am so proud to be a part of this community and to be constantly shown the amazing hearts that make it up. If you'd like to donate, my page is HERE and the video is HERE.
So, yes, Hazel was right. Normally missing my alarm or being a mess in front of the plumber or dashing about like a wild thing (I've had a few private appointments today too which took up time and energy) would frazzle me to tears. I cry very easily. But today, not so much. I feel strong and capable. Maybe that's the magic laundry service, maybe it's how much I loved Darcy's enthusiasm for standing in the rain in her PE kit or, maybe, it's you lot.
I know we don't speak in the conventional chitchat terms but I always feel you, I always know you're there and I feel so much love that it's hard to quantify it in writing. Sometimes, without even realising it, you do good fuzzy warm heart feels to me.
Toodlepip!
xx
