I’m not sure how I would describe this week, it’s been a real mixed bag of highs and lows. I have had to try extra hard to find the silver lining, the brighter side of life, which is something I always try to do these days.

The home-schooling is going along nicely and we are learning about a range of topics which are interesting and some more challenging than Dearest Son would like, but he is learning to work through, not walk away from difficult things,which I think is a major lesson in itself.

We’ve been able to have a lovely meal each night, for which I am very grateful but what I really like is how Dearest Son always thanks me for his meal, every night, without fail. I’ve noticed he is sprouting again so a clean plate is pretty much guaranteed!

On the downside however, I think I’m going through a difficult age – hormones have been playing up and normally I can distract myself easily enough but not this week as something else has reared it’s ugly head. That something is pain. It’s contstant and nagging and affecting every darn thing I do – whether I’m awake or asleep.

I won’t go into the details today but when I was in my late 20s I was thrown off the back of a motorbike at 60mph, landing on my back, on a large boulder in the middle of a field. My back has unsurprisingly never been the same since but now I really notice it. I get stuck in bed and wake up when I need to turn over, as I need to use the headboard to hold onto and throw myself onto my side! Anything needing picked up from the floor in the morning will not be dealt with until I’ve been up for a little while and moving more easily. This makes looking after my husband and his needs a bit of a challenge some days but we manage pretty well.

The back pain is one thing and the hormones fluctuating at my age (nearly 50) are to be expected, but put together and I have had more ‘poor me’ moments than I care to admit. I have been trying to do a bit of gardening when I get a chance but these have been very limited this week. Dearest Son and I took a trip to the allotment to check on things as we haven’t been up for a while – only to discover the new padlock has rusted and can’t be opened! A job for the weekend list, I think.

We got a letter saying routine work will mean the electric will be going off. Didn’t say what day or time so I phoned up to find out. The conversation went something like this:

me: Hi, got a letter about the electric going off…

him: No date and time on it?

Me: That’s right, I take it you’ve had a few calls?

Him: 3 so far, only another 167 to go.

Turns out it will be on Burns Day but early in the afternoon and only for about half an hour so we will still be able to have our haggis, neeps and tatties. It’s a meal I really look forward to as we don’t have it any other time really, although now I’m thinking about it, there is no real reason for that so I might make a point of having it more often!

Another off-putting thing that happened this week concerns someone else altogether. At the end of last week I was looking online (on Gumtree) and found someone was selling a pair of glasses that allow you to record videos of what you see, which I thought Dearest Son would love. I contacted the woman and we agreed a price and pick-up time for the next day. I picked them up and she told me they were brand new and would therefore need charged – she didn’t tell me the instructions were terrible, they would need charged for 24 hours and I would need to buy an SD card.

I got the card and charged them up – nothing. I tried a different cable, still nothing. I searched online for instructions, thinking I was doing something wrong but no, they just didn’t work. All of this took quite a few days as you can imagine so this week I contacted the seller to explain this to her and ask if she would be willing to take them back for a refund. Her reply? Maybe if I’d contacted her the next day, but NOT after a week. I did try to explain I couldn’t get all that done in a day but she didn’t get back to me and deleted the advert. Gumtree can’t do anything about it either so to say I was miffed at the whole thing would be an understatement, especially on top of everything else going on! I should have known something was up when a woman opened the door and looking like she was in her late 60s or 70s, with weirdly coloured hair and those bar piercings in each cheek! I don’t mean to sound judgemental but……

So, that has been my week so far – not as cheery as I would like but if you know anything about me at all, you’ll know I don’t give up that easy. It might take a while longer than usual but I’m off to hunt for that silver lining….I’m sure I’ve seen one around here somewhere.