My word for the year for 2026 is "Peace". I found it was a word that was going over and over in my head from around October/November 2025 and realised it was there for a reason.
My monthly roundups are now going to consist of things I've done that month to bring me peace.
Charles turned 17!
It's so cliche isn't it of parents saying "Oh my god, how do I have a 17 year old?!" and I don't want to be that person but...."Oh my god, how do I have a 17 year old?!".
17 feels like such a big deal.
He had his first driving lesson on his birthday and 2 days later had his theory test...which he passed! We then celebrated his birthday and passing his theory test by having a BBQ...cooked by him!
Harry Work Experience
The boys school have now restarted work experience. Harry isn't sure what he wants to do when he's older and there is so much pressure for them to get somewhere for work experience that we decided he could spend the week with me. I thought it would be good for him to understand what I do for work, but also due to the fact my role is so varied and I have connections with people across the business he could get an insight into the different areas of Head Office in a retail business.
We had a day at the office which was great, he was able to meet people in person, attend face to face meetings and attend the business briefing in person too.
Everyone was so lovely to him and I was so proud of him too.
Weekend Away
The boys birthdays are 3 weeks apart and I usually get them to pick something to do on the weekend before or after their birthday, depending on which falls on the weekend I have them. This year I decided to change that and instead take them away for the weekend.
After picking Harry up from school we went and picked Charles up from work and headed to St Neots. We went for a meal at an Italian restaurant and stayed at a Premier Inn. The next day we went to Woburn Safari park, I took them there in 2016 and we'd talked about going back some day. It was great, however, very hot in a car that doesn't have air con!
We then headed to Milton Keynes, went to some shops and then to another Premier Inn.
On the Sunday we went to Whipsnade Zoo. I was facing a fear to raise money for the charity CALM and today was the day I would be doing that by visiting the Butterfly House.
We had a lovely day however, it was ridiculously hot and we didn't realise how big it was there so we decided to pick which animals we really wanted to see and then left once we'd seen those, rather than walking around all day.
It was so lovely to spend quality time together and was a great way to celebrate both of their birthdays.
