Like you all are no doubt experiencing, end of year is a traditionally, very busy time . In the last week my eldest son has graduated ( now firmly installed at schoolies), boy two finished year 10, Uni assignment due today, parent viewing week at the dance school, youngest child’s birthday tomorrow – deep breath – and so the list goes on. Let’s not forget, work commitments, getting ready for the arrival of tonight’s new Air BNB guest. It is right about now that I feel that life is passing me by in a whirlwind of stuff. It sounds spoilt and ungrateful but I am at the point now that I need a good, darn break.
So, what is it about the end of the year? It doesn’t matter what you are doing, it always seems to accelerate into indomitable speed that has us all completely exhausted and yearning for time out. Well fortunately for me, mine is but 10 days away – oh yes, like a grade 12ver heading off to schoolies, I can taste freedom. At the age of 48, what does that look like? No lunch boxes in the morning, no make up, no high heels, reading in the middle of the night and not stressing out that I will be too tired for work, getting stuck into a new Netflix crime drama.
I just want to change direction for a minute and talk about good books – I am a voracious reader and when I am not on a break and working to the grindstone, I escape by reading. In recent months I have immersed myself in some crackers – the most recent of which I finished early this morning at around 3.20am. Girls, do yourself a big favour and take my cue in reading Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife – a fabulous, fictional fabulation of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. Such a fantastic insight into one of the world’s most famous storytellers – a flawed and tormented character who like his father, brother AND sister, chose to end his life. Like other good reads, I happened across this one after reading McLain’s new release, Circling the Sun – also great, focussing on another real life character – the inspiring and very marvelous woman overcoming the odds of a man’s world, Beryl Clutterbuck. If What a name!
Yes, I do think that as Christmas draws nigh we all need to get ourselves a good break – even if it is just chilling out at home for a few un scheduled days. If you cannot jump on a plane or in a car, simply disconnect the devices and voila, peace at last. Time away from the everyday is mandatory for our mental health, it allows you to clear the head and regain that sense of balance between working and home life that seems to become lost along the way or during the year. I find this emptying of the head so necessary and therapeutic. All of a sudden I am dreaming up new ways of doing things – finding space to be inspired by others creativity and achievements and feeling a sense of renewed optimism about what the next and new year holds.
About Pip Miller, Pip Miller PR
Pip Miller is a publicist, content producer and stylist in her home town of Cairns. She also happens to be a mum of five children ranging in age from six to 19. Her business, Pip Miller PR was established in 1994 and will celebrate its 21st anniversary in June. With experience comes understanding and Pip is adept in the art of bringing a story to life, along with the importance of good quality photographs and imagery.
This knowledge has also helped nurture a styling career that began almost 30 years ago when she cut her teeth in the world of media as a cadet journalist with Australian Consolidated Press.
