With a new year comes so often new year resolutions and the inevitable challenge of seeing just how long those plans for a new you last. I’m not one for making resolutions on a regular basis, and this year really isn’t any different apart for a determination to keep going with some of the changes to our exercise regime that we introduced during the first lockdown in early 2020.
Back in the spring we were fortunate to mostly have glorious sunshine and longer days, so it wasn’t difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to go out for our daily walks or to kick the children outside during the day, especially when we came across beautiful new friends like this one. G took to fitting in an hour’s dance every lunchtime and M spent innumberable hours out on the trampoline. Comparatively this time round, the cold, grey, wet and miserable weather has made everything that little bit harder. Mike and I are still managing to get out daily to fit in our 10,000 steps, although it’s almost always dark by the time we leave the house. Our longer, more adventuresome walks are restricted to the weekends, when we can just about drag both children with us without too many complaints and we can venture a little further as the daylight hours allow.
The bigger challenge has been in getting M and G up and exercising during the week. This time round they are both following their normal school timetable with live online lessons, and so have much less opportunity to get outside during the school day. Thanks to Joe Wicks and his return to YouTube PE lessons, I’ve been able to get G and M doing a 30-minute session every couple of days and a colleague of mine has shared a 7-minute workout that G and I are trying to do daily. Stagecoach has also returned via Zoom and that gives them 2.5hours every Friday evening which is much needed and enjoyed.
The biggest disappointment of all has been our impossibility in successfully getting M out and onto the trampoline with any sort of regularity. During the summer months, he spends hours out there merrily bouncing around, but the wet weather makes the mats slippery and more dangerous for him to be on. You may recall we lost our new trampoline over the summer when Storm Francis took down one of the trees in our paddock and squashed it into a tangled mess. We replaced it and despite the declining use of it as the weather worsened, it was great to have it as an easy exercise option for M. Unfortunately, the arrival of Storm Bella over the Christmas period saw us sacrificing a second trampoline to the weather as our 12ft behemoth was whipped across the garden and driveway and dropped on its side in the garden at the front of the house. The damage is enough to render it unusable for the time being, though hopefully it’s simply a case of replacing a couple of pieces to get it back up and running soon for all our sakes!
were infinitely more successful at the Disney quiz in the second week and are now reading up in preparation for tomorrow’s “
7 years to diagnosis 