Inspiring The Weekend

Although I didn’t take an official break over the summer, I have been a little quieter with fewer postings here than usual.  Like many others in the UK, I was busy enjoying the glorious weather and spending as much time outdoors as possible.  But now September has arrived and with September comes the approach of Autumn. Although, as I sit outside writing this, wearing shorts and a t-shirt under clear blue sunny skies, it’s hard to believe it.  However the mornings are cooler and the long days of summer have passed.  Children have gone back to school and the roads and tubes are busier again.

I am definitely a summer girl, as you will see from one of my previous posts.  However, I do like to embrace the seasons, in the things I do and the places I visit.  Anyone who has been through the education system in the UK will probably always associate September with the beginning of the new year.  January may be the official start of the new year, but September is definitely the unofficial one.  Its the time to sharpen pencils, buy new notebooks and start new things. September is a great time to start new projects and bring those ideas which have been harbouring in the recesses of the mind to fruition.

This is all a rather long preamble to the new series I am starting on Changing Pages.  It will be called Inspiring the Weekend and will be published weekly on a Friday.

Weekends are a really important part of my life.  This may seem an obvious thing to say, weekends are important to everyone.  But I have spent the majority of my working life as a nurse, where working weekends is the norm, and until the last few years that was the norm for me too. I never particularly enjoyed this aspect of the job, although of course days off during the week are precious too.  But it always seemed to me, I was working when no body else was.  Of course this wasn’t the case at all, thousands of us work weekends!  When I worked weekends, a weekend off became a very special time. There was a need to savour it and not waste a moment, especially if the next one wasn’t for a few weeks.

Now I do a normal Monday to Friday working week and every weekend is a weekend off.  But I have realised that the weekends are just as precious.  The opportunity to have some down time, spending time doing things I want to do rather than things I perhaps have to do is so important.  Although I appreciate there are still some things which mostly have to be done at weekends, laundry and ironing in my case, the weekends are generally a much freer time!

I love seeing friends and family at weekends, but I also like having some time to myself.  I love going out and exploring but I also love staying home and pottering.  What ever I am doing I like to have time to be inspired creatively, intellectually and spiritually.  On Inspiring the Weekend I will share with you you each week something which has inspired me and I hope will inspire you too. I might share a book or a poem or a blog post or just something I have read on line.  Or I might share a painting I love, a pod cast which has taught me something new or simply a link to an interesting website or film I have enjoyed.  Whatever it is, it will be something I love and I hope you will love too.

So if you’ve been away, welcome back, hop on board, its going to be a good Autumn.  If you are new to Changing Pages, Hello! Its great to have you hear.  I hope you will all find something on these pages over the next few months which will inspire you to live more joyfully, more creatively and ultimately more inspired. If you want to share things which inspire you, do post  in the comments below or drop me an email. Or you can find me on  Instagram and Twitter  where you will find more of my musing and inspiration.

I hope you will be inspired to join me every Friday as together we dive head first into the weekend.

Lots of love xx