While my blog slowly gathers tumbleweed

The silly thing about trying to maintain a diet-themed blog is that when you are not dieting, there is precious little to say. This site has been developing cobwebs in recent weeks as both exercise and weightloss have been far from my mind, and while I've tried to keep the Wednesday posts going, even they have been half-hearted efforts at best.

This is not to say this blog has become redundant. On the contrary, having been on 'holiday' in recent times, the need to fire up the tried and trusted regime is becoming apparent, with jeans becoming tighter and me looking a shadow of the handsome chap who won an award only last month. I plan to get back into business next week just as soon as the long Easter weekend is out of the way, and subsequently this page should be see more activity.

In the meantime, here are a few observations from the past few weeks.

Time off is bliss. Sometimes you really just need to have a break and having two and half weeks away from the office has been heavenly. It isn't that I don't like my job; I'm one of those fortunate people who genuinely enjoys what they are paid to do (most of the time), but there has been so much going on in recent months with half marathon, fundraising, the never ending interrupted nights thanks to the nocturnal child. You can't take time off from your kids, not that I'd want to. But something had to give. I was exhausted, poorly and in need of a good rest. Annual leave used for things other than hospital appointments or tending to sickly kids was the perfect remedy and I've enjoyed the opportunity to recharge my batteries.

Family is key. Time off obviously doesn't really mean time off as there is still plenty to do. Since my last day in the office, we've had my mother-in-law come to stay for a weekend, driven to Somerset for a 2 day assessment for the little one with a specialist team of physiotherapists, driven to West Yorkshire to visit family, driven to the north east coast for some caravan japes at Haven, endured three separate trips to the splash pool which amounted to me going down the same water slides time after time after time, then support the big kid with his attempts at swinging the monkey rings across the wobbly stones, a drive home from the north complete with unhelpful u-turn thanks to poorly signposted road closures. There has been an early morning hospital appointment to see a neurosurgeon. Two trips to parks today sandwiching an audiology hospital appointment. Time off work does not mean time off, but when I get to spend most of it with my nearest and dearest, there is little to complain about. It has been fantastic to be able to give my days to my boys, rather than just the grumpy bits in the morning and evening.

The K-T boys having it large

The extraordinary becomes the norm. I wouldn't say that I'm taking things for granted or becoming blasé about my son's health, but there was a realisation yesterday that something which sounds a little bit terrifying to most people has simply become another routine appointment. Tell someone that you're off to see a neurosurgeon and it raises eyebrows. Tell them that the appointment is for your 1 year old child and you can see blood drain from their faces if they're not up to speed with the history. Yesterday was a case in point. A 4 hour round trip to spend 10 minutes with someone who has the power to change life as we know it, and yet it all feels a bit of a chore. We went to discuss the results of a recent MRI. Nothing much has changed since the last one, which is good and means no need for intervention. This is a positive result, and yet having been for so many appointments with the same person over the last 14 months, it always feels a bit anti-climatic and a good excuse to moan about commuter traffic and car parking expense. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want a different sort of conversation with the Neuro. One day we probably will have a nasty surprise to contend with. In the meantime, what may seem quite extraordinary on paper feels like a tiresome necessity. Long may we have only trivial reasons to grumble.

I want to run. On Sunday morning I was glued to the pithy little tv in the caravan, full of respect for the thousands putting themselves through the London marathon. I watched the wheelchair event wondering if one day my little boy will be the next David Weir. I thought about the people I knew who were lining up in the masses to attempt their first marathon, Nearly 1 month since I last ran, and I'm desperate to pull on my trainers again. My knee by and large feels better. It felt pretty stiff last Monday night which I put in part down to the early morning drive to Somerset. I learned pretty quickly to bend the other knee to retrieve my golf ball at the pirate themed adventure golf in Scarborough. I'm going to bite the bullet in the next few days and put the knee to the test with a gentle run. Fingers crossed I come through it without setback.

Time to look sharp. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't comfortably fit into my skinny suit if I tried it on today. Hell I probably wouldn't even uncomfortably fit! It looks like a small cluster of weddings are coming up in the summer, so my motivation to get back onto the diet bandwagon is to ensure I can wear it on those special days, rather than have to revert to the next size up. I've always maintained that I've not endeavoured to lose weight for vanity purposes, but who doesn't want to look their best when the occasion demands?

Easter weekend promises to be a little on the unhealthy side. Time to get this all out of my system ready to start afresh next week when I go back to work.