What a Month - May Recap

Mike Douglas
6 days ago
3 min read

What a month it’s been! May has been packed with changes, challenges and successes.

We finished April and rolled into May by agreeing our house sale and onward purchase, meaning May has involved lots of paperwork (questionnaires, surveys and reports), with that journey still continuing.

I’ve had a few exciting events and changes at work; that’s come with a higher workload, which I hope will level out in the autumn. I’m about to make the official change to working my full time hours over four longer days. Freeing up a day for Henry and daddy time, and saving £80 a week on nursery fees. This will mean a nicer balance for Henry, having 4 days at nursery and 3 at home; rather than 5 and 2.

Specking of Henry and nursery, he had his biggest bump yet. Resulting in me rushing from work to pick up the little dude, then trips to two Pharmacists and Gosport Hospital. The staff at the hospital were amazing, and Henry was very brave receiving his steri-strips, glue and plaster treatment. Two weeks later and he’s healing nicely.

There’s been wonderful events and days out, including attending the awesome Portsmouth Comic Con, visiting Alice Holt Forest, and lunch at Fareham Live. Then the first weekend in June we have Portsmouth Pride!

May also hosts Mental Health Awareness Week. A week that is often filled with conversations, signposting (and the occasional messages to friends working at other mental health charities asking how they are managing enquiries and messages).

This year I have noticed (though as always it could be within my online and social bubble) more conversations about new and first time parent mental health. If that is something you are interested in, I'll add links below.

I think there's also a wider mixture now of positive and negative engagement with MH campaigns; that is something we shouldn't be passive or negligent about. Attitudes can change, and unfortunately I feel we are in danger of mental health becoming increasingly stigmatised again. For me this emphasises the importance of continuing these conversations and signposting.

During Mental Health Awareness Week I was informed that Open Journal has again been listed as a Mental Health Top 10 UK Blog by Vuelio. Something that’s a huge privilege and a proud moment for me. Being listed and recognised alongside the other great Bloggers and Creators on the list is remarkable; they are all doing amazing things. It's also great just being part of a Vuelio Top 10 when I’ve enjoyed so much their celebration and signposting of Blogs and Bloggers in other categories including: Pet Blogs, Dad Blogs and LGBT+ Blogs.

Over on the podcast, two recordings have been postponed and with us hopeful of moving in summer, I might need to pause booking in recordings. But I’m hopeful it’ll just be a short break, and the conversations will be back soon.

During the last week I’ve managed to meet up with friends, which has been really enjoyable. I am still finding it very difficult to have time that isn’t either work or lead parenting. I mean, despite the efforts, prioritising self care and social time still is not something I would list as a strength. So it’s an area for reflection.

Something Laura and I have been doing together in May is watching The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. We keep pausing it to talk about our thoughts and reflections on faith, culture and relationships. The programme is fun, but what I really enjoy is the conversations it prompts for us and our reflections on our own thoughts and beliefs.

I hope you’ve had a great May and are looking forward to June. It’s a busy one for campaigns and conversation prompts with: Pride Month, World Wellbeing Week, Volunteers Week, Loneliness Awareness Week and Mens Health Week.

Blogger's note: This post does not include sponsored content. None of the services, projects, campaigns or charities mentioned have seen this post before it is published, nor have they instructed me on what to say. The views, experiences, thoughts and insights expressed in this post are my own. The links included are direct web links and are not affiliate links.

Additional links and signposting: