It's been a while

OK, so yes, it's been a while.

Husband has had a kidney stone for the past month. The treatment has been patchy. At first it was incredibly good and quick, enabling us to rave about the NHS and feel smug about how great it seems compared to all the health insurance wrangles involved any time you're ill in America. Then the machine which they need to zap it (lithotripsy, if you're interested) broke down, or the scanner did, or something, and they haven't been able to get it repaired for over a week. (And it's the only one in Scotland.) That doesn't sound too long, until you know that renal colic caused by a kidney stone on the move is said to be the nearest a man gets to experiencing the pain level of childbirth. Luckily it comes and goes, and has gone more than come, but Husband has been on painkillers for a month, which have left him washed out and half his usual self.

I've been applying for new jobs and have got one. You know how demanding a process that can be. There was one week where I had a job interview each morning on three consecutive mornings. It began to feel like I had a new job, and the job was doing interviews! And then there were second interviews, and every time, they picked a day which is a day I work (only 2 of them in a week, so what are the odds?) which is horrible, because you end up fibbing. I don't like fibbing, and I'm not good at it. I particularly don't like pretending in a vague way that I'm off work because my husband has a hospital appointment when he doesn't. Anyway, I got one of the jobs, and so I'm working out my notice. Hurrah. I haven't been in a happy place for months. You know it's time to move when.... oh, but I'm not going to share all my baggage on the internet, because we all know how that ends.

Two things I have discovered about myself in the past month or two.

1) When I'm in an unhappy situation, my shadow side comes to the fore. I really can be quite gossipy and bitchy, and even as I open my mouth and some of the stuff comes out to colleagues, I listen to myself and think "What are you like? I can't believe you're saying these things?" I guess we all have areas of ourselves to work on, and this is obviously one of mine. There are plenty of extenuating circumstances; it really has been very aggravating and personal. Nonetheless, I do not like this version of myself. When I go, I feel I want to leave a note on my chair saying "I'm a nice person really".

2) I am strangely motivated by the thought of saving 5p. Scotland has recently introduced a compulsory 5p charge for a carrier bag. Shops aren't allowed to give them out free any more. The 5p's go to charity. All in all, it's a good scheme. A very good scheme. I have found it intriguing to see how incredibly annoyed I am with myself if I forget to take bags with me when I go shopping, and how I will cram purchases into one single bag instead of splashing out 10p on two bags. I stuff items into my pockets, or handbag, or make my accompanying child carry them. It's not that I resent spending the money - it all goes to good causes, and it's cutting down the amount of plastic in landfill, and what the heck, it's only 5p. It's also quite good at making you decide how much shopping you're going to do in advance of arriving at the shop, which is a good discipline. I'm all in favour or it. I just get very cross with myself when I forget my bags. I now have various stashes of bags in the car, and a couple of those ones that scrunch up into the size of a handkerchief and live in a little wallety thing.

And finally...

10-yo, too, has written a blog post, having been away from her Harry Potter blog for a spell (geddit?). No comments yet, so if any of you would like to read about a day at the Warner Brother Studios, then please do head over here (and if you're thinking of going to the Warner Brother Studios, then do - it's a great day out).

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