Evening!
Firstly just a quick mention to my favourite local retailer, Make Time of West Derby Village, Liverpool. Absolutely gutted to hear you’ve closed the craft workshop but chuffed to see the ‘Pop-Up’ element of your business is going from strength to strength! Any business that provides a creative outlet for youngsters in the suburbs can only be a good thing! You can find out more about Katy’s Pop-Up mobile arts and crafts here.
Inspired by Katy’s business model, todays post is about making time. I’m currently involved in a whatsapp conversation with my lovely friend Rachael that so far, has spanned a fortnight, and we’re simply trying to organise a get together. Fair enough, Rach lives daaawwn saaaffff and with work and childcare it can get a little bit complicated.
But the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it sounds that as adults, some of us just cant find the time to do much fun stuff anymore. I’m lucky to have three close school friends who all live within a four mile radius…..yet I’ve not seen them in over 5 weeks. 5 weeks!! We live a ten minute drive from each other. But with kids and work and studying and stuff….I seem to miss the coffee dates and before I know it a month has flown by.
Me and Rach have finally nailed a date down, 2 and a half years since we were cruelly separated by the armed forces moving us around the country. (If you’ve ever tasted Rachel’s baking then you will understand what this has done to me. The utter devastation of no longer being able to smell freshly baked banana and chocolate cake as it came out of the oven…from my very own living room, 500 yards away…..and looking after her gorgeous little boy and accidently eating his home-cooked packed lunch because its so bloody good, nom.)
In order to stick to our good intentions we’ve set a date and secured it with a £19.99 deposit. Sadly we’re not off to a swanky spa for the weekend, nor are we hitting a west end show or shopping and cocktails in the city.
Pic from Google Images
We are in fact going to smash the Portsmouth Race for Life, Pretty Muddy 5k in aid of Cancer Research instead. Talk about an amazing weekend! Best mates, loads of pink, fancy dress, raising much needed funds for a wonderful cause and I’m secretly hoping Rach is gonna bake so while I ruin her car seats with my muddy behind and munch cake on the way home! Can’t wait.
What I’ve learned from this on-going barrage of messages is that I really do have to make more time to see my girls. I wrote recently about how just a ten minute chat with a friend helped me deal with an emotional fall out, and I often discount just how important their honest, unfaltering advice is. Plus I buy them tacky Christmas baubles and force them to spend their weekends running through muddy fields with me! I’m an ace friend.
Girls, coffee….Thursday?
x
Kate Reilly James 