A January update

I had originally planned to call this post ‘January Joys’. I’ve always tried to keep this blog optimistic in nature, celebrating the beauty on my doorstep and savouring the so called ‘little things’. I was going to talk about tiny green shoots in the garden, the neverending birdsong from the huge flock of tiny sparrows that reside in our hedge, the lengthening of the days and the prospect of spring.

But then on Thursday my mum was admitted to hospital and my reliably optimistic mood has somewhat changed. Of course, there’s never a good time for a parent to go into hospital, but this is most definitely not a good time. We can’t visit her, hold her hand, tell her everything is going to be ok. Communication is limited to chats on the phone and a daily update from a hospital liaison officer. It’s not Coronavirus related (thank goodness) but as yet the doctors have still to establish what is going on. Hopefully that will be determined in the coming days.

After a sleepless night on Thursday, I woke up on Friday to the sound of those sparrows. I got up, made myself a cup of coffee and took a wander around the back garden. I could hear a blackbird sing high up in the neighbour’s tree and I counted the shoots peeping through the soil of the tulip bulbs I bought from Sarah Raven a few months ago. It lifted my spirits a little – knowing that nature’s own cycle carries on regardless, its continuity, its unstoppable force giving me strength and resilience when I need it most.

Perhaps the snowdrops in flower right now are the best example of this…pure and fragile and yet strong enough to push through the soil and bloom in the dark days of winter. In many ways, they remind me of my mum. In the Victorian language of flowers too, snowdrop means hope and that’s something we all need right now.

Stay safe out there,

Love,

Paula x

Some shots of snowdrops from the last few weeks …