Life has been going at a pace here in South London…a pace that I am not particularly fond of. All good things, just that they are squeezed into too little time so that the days are lived at high speed and any sense of balance goes out of the window.
I don’t like it. I am still, after many years of running my own business, struggling to juggle creative and admin work, running a home, allotment and being a parent.
I know that I need to make choices about what I say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to (and believe me, I do say ‘no’…) but as any self-employed person knows, it is hard to control the flow of work….
Still I feel the need to reflect, as I know that only we can create the life we need – that these things are not done to us but we are the masters of our time. A salutory reminder came from my son who told me (in the sweetest of spirits) “Mummy, you are not playful, you are workful”. Ouch. I remember writing this blog post nearly 8 years ago about the impact of “In Praise of Slow” (all my friends got given the book that Christmas!). I wrote those words before my first child was born. Looking back, I think we are still adapting to being parents, to the change in rhythm this needs. We try and do way too much (including social gatherings which really matter to us) with little or no time for just being. Last Christmas is a prime example – we had 3 weeks full of celebrations, meals, party’s (my birthday in the middle!) but looked back exhausted, with the stark realisation that we had hardly any down time at home to be together, play board games, watch Christmas TV. There’s gotta be some changes round here… This year, my dream for Christmas is that we all loll in our PJ’s for at least half the holidays…I am thinking these will help!
Having said all this, life is full of goodness (all squeezed into a itty bitty space!). Here’s some of our life in pictures from the last few weeks… 
A much needed break in Manchester with Mr P
Lots of making, particularly jewelry, for Christmas fairs and gifts…
At London’s Southbank (working on my tax return!)
And in the evening, seeing our friend Jason Carter, play at the Queen Elizabeth concert hall
Restoring a historic mosaic fireplace with semi-precious stone
Getting ready for Christmas with Mary’s walk (our nativity that we do every night)
Facilitating a mosaic workshop for 40 residents on a local housing project…very Christmassy indeed!
And today we went to hear the Balham Ukelele Society at the Balham Bowls Club (a South London Pub) where Toby was recruited into the band to play bells!