50 days of River

Fifty days of River: Connection, isolation and everything in between.

family

  • Day 50:Not the End, Just the First Fifty

    So here we are. Day 50. When I started writing back in July, it was less about telling a story and more about surviving one. Seven long weeks stretched ahead of us with no Nursery, two children at home and me already tired before we’d even begun. I wrote one day at a time because Read more

  • Day 49: Back to Nursery

    Midnight Cleaning Fantasies So, I didn’t end up going to sleep, obviously. A bit of scrolling turned into browsing cleaning websites. I’ve said for ages I need a cleaner. It’s just another job that needs doing and rarely gets done. We’re not messy but the house never gets a proper deep clean and it’s starting Read more

  • Day 48: The Never-Ending List

    Morning Chaos Another wet start. I’m going to do some research into buying pads to go on the bed. There’s so much stuff these days I’m sure I can find something. Also, something I’ve been putting off, his bedtime bottle. It’s something that has always soothed him and I’ve been so reluctant to take it Read more

  • Day 45: Potty Progress and Finding Myself

    Broken Night River’s night was broken. Twice he wet through his sheets. I’m not sure what caused it. To be clear, River isn’t fully potty trained yet. Last summer we worked so hard on this as he was starting Nursery and I knew what children at that age are supposed to do. At the time, Read more

  • Day 44: Finding Balance

    A Bloody Start My glamorous life began at 7am with dragging rubbish out of the shed for the council pick-up: River’s old mattress, a broken dryer, a sand/water tray past its best and more worn-out shoes than I care to admit. River woke up not long after and something about him looked different. Under the Read more

  • Day 43: First Steps Back to Nursery

    A Rocky Start River had a restless night, waking upset and by 6am I was up changing his soaked clothes and bedding. He lay quietly under his red blanket, clearly shaken, while I tried to balance getting him calm and ready with also preparing Summer for her first day back at school. The mention of Read more

  • Day 42: Umbrella Hunts and Train Tracks

    Mornings on Repeat Honestly, it’s getting silly now. My alarm went off at 7am. I got up, showered and went to check on River. Asleep. He stirred only when I stood there watching him, mumbled “Hello Mummy” and shuffled to the toilet rubbing his eyes. That was the extent of our morning together, just enough Read more

  • Day 40: Back to Reality

    I woke up a bit disorientated after an odd night’s sleep, not used to not being in my bed, I guess. A text message from Sainsbury’s at 7am woke me telling me my delivery would be between 6pm–9pm that day. Thanks for that. I went back to sleep and woke up to my alarm at Read more

  • Day 37: Nostalgia, Preparation and Limitations

    Slow Morning Recovery Well, I was broken. I stayed in bed till 11:30am, leaving the kids to their iPads and snacks, only getting up to make them lunch. I slowly worked through the chores: dishwasher, kitchen, laundry – the usual. I was determined to preserve my energy, as I had plans later. River entertained himself Read more

  • Day 35: Pyjamas, Pirates and Puppies

    I asked Kike to get River up this morning. I was just too tired and knew I’d need my energy for the day ahead. Those two extra hours in bed were pretty nice. When did 8:30am become a lie-in? It’s funny how parenthood completely resets the definition of “rested.” A Pyjama Day I took the Read more