The Charging Rhino

It hasn't quite turned out as planned. 

After a fairly gruelling start to the year the half term break had been hovering just ahead like a sparkly oasis. Time to breathe I thought. Maybe visit some new places and take some much needed restorative walks. 

Renew my perspective. 

Look forward.

But then came the tickle.

Just a little one but significant nonetheless.

The tickle that is soon followed by hot eyes and a runny nose.

The charging rhino had come to a stop. 

Now before I  continue I had better explain the analogy. Apparently when one is under a certain amount of daily pressure the only way to get through it is to put your head down and barge through. This stops you from getting attacked by wild animals and eaten. However once the threat/pressure/ situation has passed it is time to stop charging and relax. And just when you do so those sneaky little critters catch you from behind and before you know it you've got a cold. 

Or at least it goes something like that.

And so it goes that I'm writing this from my bed, surrounded by tissues, blisteze and old magazines.

Of course I'm very fortunate. Mike is also on his break and keeps popping in with much welcomed cups of tea and home made soup. I've got a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in.

But things have still been going on.

On Tuesday we had some new carpets fitted. I know you'll be enthralled to hear more but all I'm going to say is that after twenty years of children, dogs and rabbits skipping about we now have cream carpet adorning our stairs and landing. That's right. CREAM! What were we thinking? But it does look lovely even if any trip up and down stairs now demands clean feet. And our bedroom, where we have insisted on keeping hold of our original Victorian boards even though they were scarred with woodworm trails, is now covered in a luxurious tuft!

Of course this included a mass movement of furniture which started a bit of a sort. Started mind you, not finished. We are now paused - mid sort.

Wednesday saw the cold break but did not stop us visiting the theatre. This time I was accompanied by Mike to see the fantastic John Shuttleworth at the New Vic Theatre in nearby Newcastle under Lyme. Now I realise that drink and drugs should never mix but to be honest I hadn't realised that a small mid interval gin and tonic (always a theatre treat) would react so potently with three days of cold medicine.

Goodness me I haven't laughed so much for a long time. Tears were rolling down my face!

But don't do that at home.

Which brings us back to now. My body has finally said no, stop it, I've had enough. Stop feeling guilty about things you had planned to do and let those little critters have their way. And if that means staying put and being waited on by others then so be it! 

Appreciate it. Let it happen.

A dear friend bought me this cushion at Christmas and the sentiment always makes me stop and think.

Take care and, if your rhino does need to take a breather, watch out for sneaky critters.

Jane

xxx

P.S. Preparations are now well under way for our bloggy get together in Stratford in April. It would be so nice to meet you, so if you're even a teensy bit curious as to what we're going to be up to, give myself or dear old Gilly a shout!