End of school and birthday celebrations

It's a little bit crazy to think it is the end of the school year. Has to be the oddest ending I've ever experienced! It was good to go into school last week and sort out my classroom all ready for next year and to see my colleagues again. I found it really helpful psychologically to have been in before September because I haven't stepped foot in there since March! We had a socially distanced picnic with the whole languages department on the school field and farewelled three of my colleagues who are moving to different schools. Super sad to see them go and especially sad to have not had the last couple of months teaching with them.

I had my 29th birthday this week which also seems hard to believe but it has been lovely celebrating with friends and colleagues. On the actual day, Esther baked super yummy orange and dark chocolate cookies, my family sent "Marrying Mr Darcy" (card game) and flowers, my housemates and I watched TV together, and I only had one school meeting to zoom into. A really relaxed and enjoyable day, though let's hope my result on the card game (old maid) is not a premonition of the future! On Wednesday I met up with my work friends and we had a picnic up Box Hill together. Absolutely stunning day, beautiful views, and great company.

Mel, Esther, Jo playing "Marrying Mr Darcy"

On Saturday we had booked to go to Nymans (National Trust) and so we braved the showers and thunder storm warnings for a fun couple of hours out. We managed to dodge most of the rain and found a tree to put the picnic blanket down under for a cup of tea and cake. It was great to explore around the house and gardens - following the one-way systems in place. The house was basically gutted by fire in 1947 and is now a ruin - very pretty! The gardens were also lovely with lots of flowers out and the rain making everything very green.

We feel like there have been few opportunities for getting all dressed up over lockdown so went all out for my birthday dinner. It was fun to dig out the dresses from the back of the closet (I found mine in a charity shop end of last year for £10!) but we kept the food simple with pizza and chips. I had requested a pavlova for cake and Esther and Jo aced their first attempt ever! In the evening we watched Hamilton (the musical) and I get the feeling the songs will be stuck in my head for the next couple of weeks.

It's hard not to look back at where I was last year on my birthday and reflect on how optimistic I felt about the future. The year has certainly not turned out the way I envisaged but I don't think anybody could have predicated the current state of the world. In some ways I feel more pessimistic about what the coming year may bring, but I also think it is a great opportunity to keep living for the present and trust that God has the bigger picture in hand. So for the present, I am down in Minnis Bay with Mel leading on my first Scripture Union camp online! More details to follow :)