January #TBCSmiles

It's January, yeeay! All of my family are finally back at school and work - we are better! Yeeay! I've taken it easy getting back to writing, partly because I was so blooming tired after the flu, partly because my kids were off school, and partly because it made me too ill to take anything for my high blood pressure for 2 weeks, so my eyesight has suffered. The ripple effect is massive.

We are now playing catch up with just about everything. The boxes from all the deliveries before Christmas still fill my hallway and we owe one of the big kids their main Christmas present. The van didn't go to the garage and is now off-the-road waiting for it's brakes to be fixed. We still have Christmas goodies that need to be eaten and best before dates are getting incredibly close. As a bonus the LEGO Winter Village is still all out, something none of us are actually upset about (it definitely doesn't count as a Christmas decoration really).... and we are all well and that's the main thing.

Disappointingly we've had no snow to fill this month's photos. It's cold and slippy, but it forces changes to mundane routine and gets everyone's adrenaline pumping. It excites us and as nature shows it's power, it takes our mind off everything smaller. Instead the weather has reflected the mood of the nation in many ways. Dismal, poor and a bit blustery at times. Boring.

This time of year can feel like a giant let down anyway. Christmas is over and what is there to look forward to? January and February are hard for a lot of people and when we should be looking forward and celebrating, it's too easy to look back and miss that which isn't here. Whatever uncertainties you face, try to see good things coming. Book a holiday or arrange to stay with a friend. Take everything out of your wardrobe and re-investigate your own clothes. Sort out your books or videos, take up volunteering or go into school to read with kids. Start a course or use You Tube to find free videos to learn a skill. As I quoted in my Goodbye 2018 post:

Dingy weather aside, it was Christmas and you guys obviously managed absolutely tons of #TBCSmiles over the last month. I seriously struggled to reduce the number of my favourite to less than 30, so passed on the tricky job to my 10 year old. He's obviously a sucker for the pretty ladies!

Anyone can join in, just use the hashtag #TBCSmiles on Instagram and add it to any photo with a smile. If you don't have a smiley photo, make your own self smile at least by searching the hashtag and checking out all of those grins!

Here are 9 of the biggest from this last month, chosen by my 10 year old (who missed the last day of school in December and was only well enough to finally return back yesterday).

Thank you to everyone who shared their smiles, these 9 beauties were shared by:

SusanKMann / Hodgepodgedays / TheShropshireMum

LetsTalkMommy / Caro_Mad / CarlyMarkham1

Mrs_Hs_Favourite_Things / NotMyYearOff  / Life_With_The_Monster

We managed to decorate before we became ill, so at least we had a great backdrop. There may be a few strained smiles, our 10 year old was poorly for more than 3 weeks, but they are all real. We made some corking smiles in spite of the flu's best efforts, and our big kids saved Christmas. Smiles that are hard won are always a little more valuable and remembered longest. You can't have a miracle without facing disaster first...

If you are finding life hard at the moment, talk to someone. There is ALWAYS someone to share your worries and fears with and there will be people who can help you, however deep a hole you think you are in. Don't be miserable when you could be brilliant.

The Samaritans are on hand 24 hours a day for anyone who needs to talk or is struggling - Call 116123

If you are younger or worried about a young person then you may be happier to contact Papyrus UK - Call 0800 068 41 41