Reasons to be Cheerful – Staycationing

I don’t feel very cheerful writing this post, I have to admit. I feel very tired and grouchy, full of anxiety about returning to work tomorrow and I have a mountain of washing and a shed load of grown up jobs to do before that happens. So I’m not in the best of moods. But that is only because I have had the loveliest of weeks, so that is what I’m going to focus on for now, because all good things have to come to an end, and if they didn’t we wouldn’t appreciate them as much, right?

Dan and I have just returned from a little holiday. With all the money we’ve had to spend on the house so far this year – not including phase two which we hope to start next year – we didn’t have the spare cash to pay for a second foreign holiday this year, so we’d opted instead to book a cottage somewhere in the UK so we could at least get a little time away with Bonnie and spend a bit of quality time together away from work and all those adult responsibilities. It’s been a busy, and at times quite stressful, few months so I was very much looking forward to having a break. I’d be lying though if I said that in the back of my mind I didn’t have a tiny little bit of disappointment festering that we wouldn’t be getting the pool/beach/sunshine combo I was so desperately craving. I like to think I’m not a spoilt or ungrateful person, and I knew we would have a lovely time, but I couldn’t quite make myself feel that same level of excitement I’d normally feel if we were jetting off somewhere tropical on a plane. And given that I spent 3 years of my Uni days living there, once we’d settled on Wales as a location I was pretty certain the weather would be against us and we’d spend the week drying off from soggy walks in the rain or holed up in a pub (not that that isn’t also a great idea of a break, you understand, just not my traditional view of a ‘holiday’!)

HOW WRONG COULD I BE??

I’d started to get nervous about two weeks ago because the news was reporting torrential rain and severe flooding not far from where we were due to be staying. Great, I thought. We won’t even get to go at this rate! And even if we do we’ll be stuck indoors all week! What an expensive way to catch up on Netflix bingeing!! This was not really what I had in mind! Still, work was getting me down and I was feeling exhausted from all the DIY and constant state of ‘half done’ we’d been living in, so I told myself that even a week of lounging on a sofa was something I desperately needed, so I resigned myself to the fact that whatever happened I’d at least get to spend some precious time with my lovely boy and adorable doggy, and that was the best I could hope for.

And then something weird started happening. Every time I had a moment of optimism and checked the weather app I saw something odd – these weird, round yellow things!! Sunshine! I mean, after the summer we’ve had you wouldn’t have thought that was such a strange sight, but in Wales?? In October?? I thought it was probably just a glitch, but even last Monday as we pulled off the drive to set off, the trusty app was still telling me we were due a week of sunshine, no rain, and temperatures in the mid to high teens. Crazy! And it wasn’t lying either – we’ve been treated to the most incredible week of blue skies, warm days and not even a drop of rain and boy have we made the most of it. Sure, there was plenty of snuggling under a blanket with the dog, watching all those films we’ve been saying we’ll get around to watching for the last few months, but we’ve also spent the majority of our time out and about in the stunning Welsh countryside, exploring castles and taking in the breathtaking scenery. I even got to see the sea! And we all know that makes it a proper holiday for me!

I’ll leave it there for today as I have lots and lots of posts planned and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! But for now, as much as I feel a little down in the dumps about crashing back to reality, I’m feeling very grateful for the lovely week we’ve been able to spend in our very own UK. And I promise I’ll be back later in the week with a positive, refreshed attitude! For now I’ve got that mountain of washing to contend with though…

Love,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin