A light at the end of the tunnel

It's a great feeling when you're within 

touching distance of the other side

I was determined not to be a house bore this week but quite honestly that's all my life consists of right now, along with work and running.  Sad ... but true.

However, after almost 4 weeks of what can only be described as 'challenging' to say the least, I feel like we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Having said that, it still hasn't been all plain sailing this week as we had to call a plumber out 3 times, yes 3 times!!  I feel like I've missed my calling in life, I can sniff out the smallest of leaks before disaster strikes.  Hopefully, we've seen the last of the plumbing problems and we can now move forwards with decorating.

Saturday was a major breakthrough as we finally got the flooring finished in the hall (when I say 'we', I actually mean Mr Bob's son, highlight of his week coming round to help us on the weekend!!) and we sorted out the living room.  Well, we sorted it  out in a fashion as we successfully moved a whole load of sh*te from one end of the room to the other, but at least it looked neater and we now have two available sofas to sit on.  

I've come to realise that I'm not made to live amongst chaos, I like to feel organised and be in control of my life rather than life controlling me.  I really felt it this morning when I went for my Sunday morning long run.  They haven't actually been that long recently because other things have taken a priority.  But this morning, the sun was shining, I was listening to my music and 90 minutes later I suddenly realised that I'd been completely absorbed in my running, rather than thinking 'oh my god, I've got to sort that when I get back and this and the other'.  It was a lovely feeling to have a clear mind and felt even better with views like this.  Look at that sky!!

We've all been in the middle of chaos recently but have you also had something else to contend with too?  How have you dealt with it?  What made you feel more in control?  If you're still struggling, here's a few things that can help.

• Keep some kind of routine in your life every day.  Even if it's just one simple thing, do it, because that one little bit of routine in your life is going to make you feel better.  I've run / exercised every single day recently to keep me sane.  I've not had the best of sessions on occasions with so many other things on my mind, but at least I've done it and it made me feel better.
• Take time out.  Stop, breathe and do something you enjoy no matter how busy your schedule is, because trust me you need it.  I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been doing very well with this and have paid the penalty.  I've been going at 100% miles an hour for the last 4 weeks, I've worked all day then turned off my computer and worked all evening on the house, as well as doing my fitness sessions and a million other things and, quite honestly, I've felt exhausted.  I realised how much today when we sat down and had an old-fashioned leisurely Sunday morning with croissants for breakfast and reading the paper.  I felt so relaxed and chilled which made me think how much I needed this little bit of downtime.
• Identify your stress triggers.  What are the things that make you feel out of control?  Knowing your stress triggers in the first place is halfway to dealing with them.  For me, it's when I don't feel organised which is why when we first moved house, it was so important to get my office up and running so I had at least one room where I could feel organised.
• Accept that you can only control what's in your power to control.  Life has a way of throwing unexpected curve balls your way.  We couldn't have controlled all the issues we had with plumbing, we couldn't even see some of the problems until it was too late.  It's important that you accept this fact otherwise you'll just beat yourself up about something that you had no way of knowing it was going to happen.
• Keep some perspective.  It's so easy to slip into a 'poor little me' mindset.  You feel like the whole world, including your own house, is against you!  But step outside your inner circle and look from the outside in with fresh new eyes.  You'll undoubtedly realise that it's not 'poor you' but how incredibly lucky you actually are.  Your mind only starts to spiral out of control when you let it, so rein yourself in and be grateful for all that's good in your life.

#2020