In ten minutes flat

Everyone has those days where you look around your house and want to scream.  There's always something else that needs doing.  I'm fighting a battle with the clutter and the dust and I'm losing!  (Everyone feels like that, right?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!)

I have this little trick for those times when I think I will actually scream if something doesn't get done, sharpish!  I put the kettle on to boil to make a cup of coffee (it's an instant caramel latte actually, but I won't judge if you want to make tea instead) then I look around for the most visually impactful jobs.  The things that jump straight out at me, accusingly.  Usually it's putting away the washing up or taking the recycling out to the bin.  (We pile our recycling on the counter after it's been rinsed or just inside the front door if it's coming down from upstairs.)  I spend the time it takes for the water to boil and then cool enough to be ready for coffee blitzing the things that jump out at me.  Usually I end up thinking 'just one more thing' and getting a few more bits done too.  After I'm finished, I haven't usually spent more than five minutes cleaning or tidying and there's always more things to do but there's something about doing those little bitty jobs that get glossed over again and again.  I think it's because I see them all over the place, nagging at me.  Getting them done seems so freeing and helps me relax.  Occasionally it even gives me the energy and motivation to move on to something more significant.  Mostly I just take my coffee and go find something more fun to do.

From Granny and Grandpa, with love

My parents have given each of our children their first teddy bear.  They started the tradition with Isaac; actually, he got two bears, a traditional brown bear and a modern Kaloo bear, now referred to as crocodile bear.  They came to stay with us the day after Isaac was born and drove into town especially to buy his first bear.  So it was just natural that they'd bring a teddy for Anna and Samuel when they arrived.

Isaac's teddy wears a fireman outfit these days and has recently been to school because they're looking at bears this term.  Anna's teddy is supposed to wear a jaunty little necktie but you're more likely to find it around Isaac's neck than teddy's.  Samuel's teddy sits in the corner of his cot and gets chewed on regularly.

I still have my first teddy bear; he's a bit thread-bare now but he sits on the top of my bed and gets mauled occasionally by well-meaning children.  He sat on a bookshelf above my bunkbed at home then moved to university with me.  He has no name but he's so precious to me.  He has always had a place in our bedroom and I think he always will.

I'm glad that my children have their own family heirlooms and I'm looking forward to hearing them tell their stories to their own children one day.