June #TBCSmiles 94 Months

It's Summer! Well, it feels like it just now anyway, and the UK is promised a heatwave this weekend, which has given everyone something to talk about, even if some of us aren't as excited as others (I'm not built for hot weather!). It'll also mean lots of playing outdoors, getting together with friends and relatives, and hopefully a lot of smiles.

We've had a few bonfires, a trip to the cinema and a birthday, but mostly spent the last month continuing to sort and pack, take stuff to the tip and send it away with other people who want it or can use it. We never seem to get anywhere close to actually finishing! I guess a surprise move after 15 years and 7 kids really does mean you have no choice but to go through all of that stuff you have been putting off for far too long. 

For us it's meant the rediscovery of tons of treasure, and a million memories. Going through all of the kid's old toys takes you back in a way photographs never can. It doesn't give you a snapshot, it releases all of the stories and the moments. The times things went wrong, or right, the conversations and debates, birthdays and holidays. The daft things they said, pet names and misheard sentences. The precious reminders that make something costing pennies into something so valuable that you can never imagine letting it go.

Because we lost Elspeth, everything from the last 22 years carries precious memories, but going through all of my own treasure I brought with me up to Manchester has reminded me of the other people I've lost along the way. It's been hard, there's been a lot of crying, and a lot of laughing. I've been very much aware that 50 years isn't just an age, it's a lifetime, and I've been a lot of people during that time. I've known a lot of people, and while I may not have travelled far, I've seen a lot of things and visited a lot of places. I made and took with me a lot of smiles. 

You guys have made some great smiles this month, I have a truly amazing collection of just 9 of the biggest here, but they are all available on Instagram under the hashtag #TBCSmiles - and as ever, ANYONE can join in. Each smile shared creates more, and that's never a bad thing. It's great to see so many adults again - I think we might even have more grown ups than children this month. It's great to see so many people happy. We've had a hard couple of years, and the relief that everything has calmed down is clear in everyone's face. 

These smiles were shared by the following Instagrammers: 

MrsShilts / MrsAmyLFox / TobyGoesBananas

PaigeWallbankxo / GoingOnAnAdventureBlog / TheStrawberryFountain

LetsTalkMommy / SuperBusyMum / Haylee_Louise_

I took very few photos this month, I only had a couple of smiles, so instead this month I'm sharing some of the photos I found in my loft - they mostly have smiles in, even if they're wry or coy... (I do have photos of my children with their absolutely lovely paternal Grandmother, and my brother, but they were a little more recent, on display in my home and not hidden away in my loft!)

These are all the photos I have of me as a child - with my Grandparents, parents and younger sister (my mother is in very bad health, but still fighting and with us. My sister is still very much here, but sometimes Wakefield is very far away. My father left us for a new family long ago, and chose not to be part of my life or my sister's). There is me as a teenager, with friends I lost touch with. As an adult, with my first born and his Great Grandparents. My own Great Grandparents Tom and Dolly, and a very special 'jewellery box' which my brother made me when he was young, because I loved puzzle boxes, and he loved me as much as I loved him.