This week, we welcome the brilliant Jane Clare as our guest blogger. She's one funny mummy over at the brilliant blog, The Postmodern Mammy.
A funny thing happens at this time of year. And no I’m not talking about the rosy post-Christmas glow from one too many egg nogs... suddenly my Facebook, Twitter and news sites are clogged up with advertisements for mindfulness.
I suppose it's only natural that we think about our mental health and stress management as we move from one year to the other. Mindfulness isn’t for me though. In fact, the endless photos of people sitting cross-legged at the ends of piers at sunset leave me cold. I have, after much consideration come to the conclusion that the things that I need right now are not New Year specific.
Here's a list of stuff that would be helpful in 2016:
1. People without children not telling me how stressed/tired/bored they are feeling
You have every right to be tired when you don’t have children. Of course you do. With those hours to fill doing… well, whatever it is you do when you don’t have children…. getting your hair done? That is taxing. You are right, Christmas IS hard. So many sweets to unwrap, while watching what you actually want to watch, so many nights out socialising. What is arguably in a different league of tiredness however is the constant cleaning, tidying, cooking, row mediation, washing, drying and trying to look presentable all on roughly two hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, with a cumulative hangover and a pain in your back that would bring down a rhino. I won’t talk to you about how hard my life is right now, if you please stop moaning about wanting a nap in the middle of the afternoon.
2. Booking a summer holiday
Annually, bookings for summer holidays peak in January. And I fully understand why. The thoughts of actual sunshine on an actual beach might just be enough to drag me through the dreary days of January. I dream of palm trees. Yes, they have lovely palm trees in Rosslare.
3. Getting some exercise
Getting out for a run never fails to give me a lift. It also gives me a much-needed sense of achievement. Of course being at home you achieve a lot in your day; cleaning the same spot over and over and over and over (my toddler is at the, ‘let’s pull everything out' phase) but sometimes, you just need to run and run and run and feel like you are actually getting somewhere.
Jane is a freelance writer based in Dublin; she recently left the NGO sector to pursue a career in writing. She has two children and runs the Postmodern Mammy blog when not mammying. She has also been published and may one day get around to a book. Catch up with her on Twitter or Facebook. 
