Tired in Tuscany

Our adventures in Tuscany have been wonderful, terrifying, heartfelt, stressful, joyful, overwhelming but above all totally worthwhile.  This is the place where I feel at home, rooted, grounded and content.  The ups and downs are all part of this life but sometimes I feel heavy hearted as other peoples actions or opinions hurt me or leave me feeling panicky.

Yesterday a neighbour was rather blunt about the state of our veg patch and the fact that our cat had probably disappeared because he wasn't castrated yet.  To be fair both of these points are true, but also, I am very aware of these points and they bother me enormously.  I try to understand that everyone has stuff going on in heir private lives and in their own heads but to point out stuff that clearly already affects someone is rather cruel and unkind I'd say.


So today I thought I'd let free all the things that bother me in writing and let them go...

• Worried sick about our injured missing cat
• worried sick about my son's small operation tomorrow
• Dog fur and dust everywhere
• piles of washing
• weed covered veg patch
• rude neighbours and work colleagues
• mounds of paperwork
• flies and mosquitoes
• the state of our car (rubbish bin like)
• constant running around
• tiredness and illness
• feeling panicky and worried
• lack of time and energy
• bills that need addressing
• lack of support 
• lack or organisation
• Need to take a break and recharge
• Massive list of commitments this summer
• Feeling unfit, unkempt and flabby

ENOUGH - the above list are just niggles, the bumps in the road, the crumbs in the bed, nothing more, so here is the bigger and better picture:

• The sun is shining across the terracotta roof riles
• the dogs are snoozing on the lawn
• the garden is full of birdsong, blossom and flowers
• the lawns are cut
• the seeds are growing
• we have a car, house, huge gardens and veg patch
• I have flexible work/lifestyle
• we have a trip booked to see friends
• we have friends coming this weekend
• we have good health in general (ish)
• the market is on in the morning for fresh veg and good cheeses
• we have dreams and hopes
• the shelves are full of books waiting to be read
• the children are looking forward to summer holidays
• the shows, festas, rugby matches etc are all times to chill out with the kids
• we live well in our little house
• We have hoopies and woodpeckers to watch pecking the grass
• hills full of acacia perfume and swathes of poppies
• old pine dresser full of food
• wine is cheap and good here
• we have booked a weekend at the coast
• Our family is secure and loved and strong