Reasons to be Cheerful

It is a struggle this week to be cheerful - two little ones stricken with  chesty colds and fevers plus a sick husband have put a lot of strain on me. The house is a mess and nobody is really eating properly. However, my little ones are on the mend, husband has an appointment with the doctor this morning which hopefully will get him the cure he needs and it's nearly the weekend so my big girls can help out a bit with getting everything back on track.
Even amidst this chaos and coughing there have been reasons to be cheerful.
ONEDaughter (and gym partner) Liberty has been seeing an osteopath for a problem with her hip. The problem has impacted on our gym sessions which have been infrequent and unstrenuous. With expert manipulation and massage, the problem has been righted and we have promised ourselves a nice gentle easing back into the gym on Saturday with exercise followed by sauna and jacuzzi. We are also thinking of booking ourselves in for a course of pilates or yoga to relaunch our fitness program.
TWODaughters Taylor and Charis are both at stages in their school careers where they are thinking ahead to University and beyond. Neither of them had any clear direction about what they wanted to do but this week they have both had epiphanies that have given me reason to be cheerful.
Taylor is going with her academic strength and looking at mathematics courses within the Russell Group of Universities. The prospectuses are arriving through the post and excitement is building.
Charis, at 14, is only at the point of choosing her GCSE options but she has decided that she wants a career in medicine. This is giving her a very clear focus and she is thinking of strategies to achieve her objectives.Their ambition and drive makes me incredibly proud.
THREEI bought a new long handled dustpan and brush set. That might seem like lamest reason to be cheerful ever but during the course of the day I always have a lot of mess to sweep up - mostly from the baby boy's attempts to feed himself but also from the pre school 'make packed lunch and eat breakfast whilst still half asleep' routine and the post school feeding frenzy. Sweeping up was something I quite enjoyed on account of my zebra print long handled dust pan and brush set which I loved until it became a zebra print broken handled dustpan and brush set. My husband's repair didn't work and it was becoming frustrating to the point of infuriation trying to do a job with tools not fit for the purpose. I bought myself a shiny new one (zebra print!) and hey presto, back to easy sweeping.
In a similar vein, removal of a huge clump of hair/dust/unmentionables from part of my vaccuum cleaner has transformed the suction from pathetic to vicious. Watch out carpets, I'm coming for you!