Goodbye for Now

We’ve had the most incredible Summer in Cornwall, and now that the meteorological Autumn has arrived, we will be very busy.  It is noticeably quieter in Cornwall this week, so we’re off down to Poldhu Beach tonight for a sing-along with a very popular Cornish band who describe themselves as “proper Cornish singers”.  We’ve pre-ordered pizza and beer from the beach café, so it should be a good evening. Jamie has three games of cricket left for St Agnes, and I have to say it’s been a real hoot! We’ve met so many local people through the cricket, and they all seem to love the same things as we do – drinking and having a laugh!

As you will have guessed from the title of this week’s blog, Part 1 of my story is ending.  I’ve loved writing it, and it’s far exceeded my expectations regarding the number of readers, making the top 10% of visitors to a WordPress blog, which is amazing. 

I started to write my story as I wanted to raise awareness of autoimmune disease, and it’s been extremely rewarding reading the messages from people who have enjoyed my tales.  I’ve talked openly and honestly about my diagnosis and the effect it had on my life.  I’ve covered the challenges I had taking the medication, my allergic reaction to a new biological drug and my visits to A&E.  I’ve also shared some of the tips that help me manage all the nasty visitors that accompany autoimmune conditions.

My career has also been very important, and I’ve enjoyed every minute.  Through my blog, I’ve shared some of the lessons I’ve learned.  The most comments received in any week were when I talked about the difference between positive and negative motivation, and the second was when I criticised full-time home working 😊. Throughout lockdown, writing my blog was a real saviour for me as our work had dried up, and we could not see family and friends.

One of the reasons I’m taking a break is that September is an incredibly busy month for us.  We’ve seen an increase in our work, our Hampshire project is underway, and our beautiful cottage in St Agnes is having a makeover.   An added challenge is that my elderly parents are both in poor health, so we’re visiting Cumbria in the next few weeks, too.  It’s an 800-mile round trip, which is exhausting.  As an only child, I wanted them to move closer, but they chose not to, and I did understand their reasons for staying put.  That said, it’s certainly made life more challenging for all of us, especially now.  I’m also planning to write a book, and whilst I’ll restart my blog again in October, I may move to bi-weekly or monthly.

Finally, and before I sign off, I wanted to say a big thank you to all my readers for your lovely words throughout these 10 months and leave you with one final thought.

Life is short.  There are so many surprises, obstacles, ups and downs, but we are all captains of our own destinies, and we need to abandon the fear to live life to the full. I don’t know what our next chapter is going to look like, but I know for sure it won’t be boring 😊. 

Goodbye for now, see you soon and at the end of each day let there be no excuses, no explanations and no regrets xxx

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