Last week I wrote for the first time in awhile, I wrote about being Stuck in a funk and how I was feeling a bit randomly fed up for several reasons. A week on and I’m suddenly feeling much more myself and it’s not taken much at all.

I think the main reason is that I’ve managed to have some fun this week, proper fun! In my last post I explained how my recent mid-week day off and weekends had been taken over by all sorts, including some pretty grim events. This week was normal though, I had my usual play date with our best ones on my day off enjoying a decent run in the sunshine beforehand and then coffee, lunch, soft play and Christmas decs (don’t ask). Then this weekend also involved more running, dancing and a much needed and long overdue night out with the girls, sipping too much wine and martini cocktails…cue bad head in the morning.

Now I’m not saying I need to go out on the piss every weekend to feel ok, in fact I really don’t, I prefer it to be once in awhile these days. However, what I am saying is that it was the time spent with my favourite people having fun, laughing, talking and being together, that’s what got me out of the rut I was in. It’s so simple really isn’t it? Just decent time with those I care about.

I mean I speak to my closest friends daily, with D and I having a daily phone call where he listens to me whinge for half an hour about my first world problems, but that isn’t the same as getting quality time together. It’s not the same as nattering over coffee whilst our kids hurl themselves down the slide or sipping a glass of Pinot whilst people watching in a bar or grabbing a cheeky breakfast and putting the world to rights whilst P enjoys her ballet class. As much as these daily check ins and TikTok video sharing WhatsApp texts are vital, they can never replace the hug, the giggle and the face to face conversations my friendships thrive on.

I really needed my mates this week, properly, me and them, laughing at my typical late arrival, them having already ordered knowing they’d be waiting for ever for me and all the other typical things that happen when we venture out together. I really needed it, even if one of my friends did blow my cover on the lies about Christmas (she knows!) I needed it all, it made me switch off properly from things and have some relaxed time out from work, running a household and trying to train for up and coming races. It made me just be me for a little bit.

So I wasn’t really stuck in a funk, I’d just had a lot of things going on and not been able to have some proper fun. We’re all a bit guilty of that sometimes, getting stuck in ruts and letting everything get on top of us, forgetting what really matters and to try switch off and take your mind off the things that are bothering you and have some fun.

It’s amazing how much more productive and objective you can be as well afterwards, I feel like I view the world differently when I’ve managed to have some real downtime. Like I’m able to see things more clearly and rationally. Like I’m re-energised and ready take things on 💪🏽

This post isn’t actually work related, if anything the things stressing me have been outside of work, a poorly P, grief (my own and that of those around me) general parenting woes (I thought the terrible twos and threenager crap stopped when she turned 4) but I now feel like I can handle them all better. So I need to make sure I still schedule in some fun and proper downtime when things are getting rough, because if anything that’s when I need it more.

Let’s have more fun.