Valentine's Day...with a difference

Well it's one thing to spend Valentine's alone because you are single but another when a global pandemic is actually keeping you apart!

It is now two months since I have seen my man and although the surprise bouquet of flowers I received yesterday is absolutely beautiful and the cute mug with a teddy inside that I received in the post was super sweet, nothing can match the feeling of actually being together...

I knew when we got together that there would be some distance between us for several years until we can get all our ducks lined up in a row, but I did expect to be able to see him regularly. Damn this virus!

Vaccines are rapidly being rolled out with over 13 million now administered in the UK, but unfortunately neither of us are due ours any time soon and travel restrictions still haven't been lifted. Patience is certainly wearing thin.

So my Valentine's Day evening is one of solitude. There will be no FaceTime tonight as my love is working a night shift. My daughter has just left to stay with her father for a fortnight and I am mopping up my wet face after sobbing through the end of Marley and Me. My heart broke when I read the book, and again when I watched the film. Second time of watching, some years later, I don't know why I do it to myself! I can't even cheer myself up with food because I'm now six weeks into

and a stone lighter! Yay for me! The Christmas chocs are still taunting me every time I go in the kitchen but their efforts of temptation are no match for my willpower! Lonely Valentine's Day or not!

Today has been a great day, it started as all Sundays should, reading a writing magazine in bed with a lovely cup of coffee in my new Winnie the Pooh mug (my lovely Valentine's gift) while my daughter reads quietly beside me - absolute bliss! I also fleshed out the plot of my novel, Flickers ( a working title which may change!). It feels good to be making progress and I have come to realise that aiming to write everyday can leave you feeling like a failure if you don't manage it, but as long as you're making some sort of progress, whether it's research, plotting, creating a character or even just thinking up a scene in your mind, it's still progress.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this week's waffle.

Keep safe and much love,

Nicola

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