be happy

I never thought that I would miss my work as much as I do right now. My job (two days a week) as a mentor/cafe worker at The Usual Place is one which I never intended to have, really. I had not had a proper paid job since leaving the NHS when we went to live in the US in 1994. When we came back to live in Scotland, I had small children and D had a job whose hours were long and anti-social. I chose to be a full time mum, not an easy decision at the time, but I think it was the right one.

Over the years, I did lots of volunteering, including a morning at The Usual Place, and then I was encouraged to apply for a paid post there. I'm so glad I did. The job brings me into daily contact with so many interesting people, both staff and customers, and I enjoy working with our trainees and seeing them grow in confidence and ability. Of course, the cafe has been closed since the middle of March, but we are being paid this month and our employers are looking out for us. 

This morning we had our first "virtual staff coffee break" on Zoom, and it was lovely to see everyone. It was also sobering to see how this virus has impacted on all our lives in different ways.

This afternoon I cycled up to Dunscore for my daily exercise. I saw this drawing which had been pinned to the war memorial and it made me smile :-)