Rollercoaster January

When I started blogging a month by month account last year, I thought those twelve posts would form the basis of our annual family newsletter.
I was wrong.
Somehow, when I came to write the letter, I disregarded my twelve little snapshots of life.
And perhaps that was right. Because including all the little details would have been a) boring and b) repetitious.
So recording the little details each month is just for fun. A little time of reflection.
This year beginning was, indeed, somewhat of a gentle rollercoaster. January, named after the Roman god Janus who looked backwards at the old year and forwards towards the new.  Double-headed, double-minded.
The highs and joys of having Cat and Jonny here over Christmas and New Year soon changed to lows as they left.
Norwich isn't the easiest of places to get to from Guernsey.  Auckland, New Zealand, is somewhat further.
Distance hurts.
Then, just a few days later, snow arrived, briefly. Fun. School was an adventure as we waded through the slush and made a huge snowman.
A week of 'normality', then flu hit hard. First the children: how generous they were, as they shared their coughs and colds and bugs with me.
Two days off, drag back to school and a week of weirdness before I started to feel 'normal' again. in the meantime, Richard managed to crack his nose surfing and catch the 'flu' at the same time. Who says men can't multi-task?
Now it's February.
A new month.