The Georgous

Phew! Part 2 – was some story eh?….If you’re still with me – Thank you.

And so we have moved on…but not without the tonnes of support and sympathy from friends and family. I must at this point thank all my fantastic friends and family who lent listening ears, hugs and loads of encouragement and advice through those dark days, and most importantly, I need to thank my DH for understanding, being there and being supportive through it all (can we get a cocker spaniel now? :))

So what happened next? Basically in the year post resignation, I took a proper time-out and realised that I had a child, I thought I knew, but didn’t actually (1 hour evenings, and busy weekends really don’t count for anything!).

So we, unplugged the TV (we tell people it was because Georgia was spending far too much time watching, but the honest truth was £120, for the TV licence, stretched a long long way when a household income has been halved). And then we really really reconsidered what was important and what was not. For me, since then, it has become really important to have a happy life, not in a ‘whatever happens bum’ kinda of way, but to be thankful and grateful for what we have and who we have.

I enrolled on a Life Coaching course, that four years on, I’m still working on *sheepish look*. And then, I put together a ‘Plan of Attack’ to get the Oxford University Press (OUP) to publish my Crystallography teaching notes as a tutorial-type undergraduate textbook. It worked! After about 6 months of mummy-only time, Georgia went back to nursery (St John’s on the Hill), 1 day a week and I wrote the book then and during her nap and sleep-times.The book Principles of X-ray Crystallography was out early last year.

As an aside, we formalised our web design and learning environment services, to form Xelium Ltd. 

And so life now is about being a full time parent and a part time worker (that is working every time Georgia is in school and when she’s in bed at night), and what an amazing combination!

We have at least 2 meals each day as a family. We work really hard and really efficiently, but our down times are completely fun. We determine and define our work hours and at the end of the day, doing as much or as little as we want – we reap 100% of the rewards.

Georgia has definitely benefitted from having us both around, although that has also contributed to the general reluctance to go to school- I think- she thinks we’re having fun at home! Having said that, in all honesty, school is a great FREE babysitter.

So in all, it’s a good life! 🙂

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