It feels like it’s been a very slow and frustrating start to the year. I’ve always been someone whose mood can be easily affected by the weather. So the January blues are always a given for me. It’s why I’m pretty famous in my friends and family circle as the guy who invented the “January present for themselves”. In previous years it seems to be the month I’ve treat myself to the next bit of tech, be it a new phone or a couple of Playstation games. This year it was a new TV……But I digress.

Weeks of Gloom

There’s been a number of reasons why I’ve felt that 2019 is limping along. I seem to have been plagued with colds for starters, more so than usual for this time of year. As sufferers of #ManFlu know you can’t do anything until it passes. This has meant that regular gym trips have become somewhat sporadic. After a good healthy 2018 this has felt a bit annoying. Like all of the hard work I put into last year is being undone.

To add to the colds the whole family was struck down with a stomach bug the other week. I’ll spare you the details but we had to quarantine for a couple of days. It actually struck during the school holidays which was good for keeping iBears attendance going but scuppered any plans we had.

It’s not just physical illness that has made 2019 feel like it hasn’t begun properly. There have been other things too. My health anxiety has returned after a good period away which resulted in a trip to the doctors last week to discuss a couple of concerns. As is usually the case, I was given a clean bill of health and sent on my way. It hasn’t helped the mood though.

Work has been pretty tough recently which has dominated my thoughts at times. And apart from a weekend away last month I’ve hardly seen any friends to even have a coffee and a chat. Even a phone call has seemed impossible. Busy lives and all that.

So, all in all my mood’s been pretty flat since the turn of the year.

Reasons to be cheerful

Ok, that’s the bad stuff out of the way. The purpose of this post is to try and put things in perspective. So with that in mind, what have been the good things to happen this year so far?

Well, iBear is progressing brilliantly both at school and at home. We seem to have hit a bit of a sweet spot with her recently. We received a postcard out of the blue the other day from her school commending her on a recent work and attitude. There was definitely something in my eye that day…. At home, she’s been able to get out on her new “big girl” bike a bit recently and it’s been a game changer. So much so that I can no longer jog along with her to keep up! I’m going to have to dust my bike off and join her, something I’ve been looking forward to doing for ages.

The weekend away I mentioned above was a now regular Board Game Weekend meet up where myself and four friends get together for two days of junk food, beer and board games. This time around instead of visiting each other’s houses we booked a cottage, with a hot tub. We all had a brilliant time.

I’m also still keeping a bullet journal going having started one last year. I was reading something online the other day online about a ‘grateful’ journal. This is where you list down things in your life you’re thankful and grateful for. I’ve been doing it for a week now and I think I can feel the benefit.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Its strange how just by writing things down you can change your mood and outlook. Just spending a bit of time writing about a couple of good experiences has made me crave more. With this is mind I’m going to list a few simple 2019 bucket list type ideas. Hopefully I can return to this post later in the year and tick them all off.

• Sort the garden out once and for all
• Organise a family bike ride
• Family walking trips in the Lake District
• Self care: spend more time with friends – Board game café? Whisky distillery trips? game nights?
• So something a little different
• Some proper date nights, not just a bottle of wine and a film on the sofa.

OneDadsview

Sometimes things can get on top of me. I do feel that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to even do the basic things. But then I also realise that by taking a step back every now and then and reviewing life isn’t all that bad. It’s pretty good actually. All I need now is that winning lottery ticket……