Nothing of interest happened in my life in September

September in East Dulwich.

A couple of weekends ago we had some friends round for Sunday lunch. We ate in the garden; it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.  Over Anita's special dessert my friend Alasdair pointed out that I hadn't written anything on my blog for a while.  (It is always a real treat when someone reveals that they read my blog - even more so when I realised they've paid enough attention to notice that I haven't written anything). My immediate response was that nothing of interest had happened in my life in September.  Alasdair suggested that should be the title for my next blog. Thanks mate! 


Of course, it isn't true.  Loads of stuff happened in my life in September. In no particular order: I started walking without crutches (liberating!); I watched my ankle swell to the size of a grapefruit (scary); I started using crutches again (depressing); I met up with ex-work colleagues I hadn't seen for five years (a lot of baby chat); I went out in Soho (drunken); my mum turned seventy (she doesn't look it); we went to my first two-Michelin-starred restaurant to celebrate (delicious);  I travelled to Brussels (lots of good beer); I travelled to Belfast (lots of rain); I delivered my first overseas training session; for the first time I realised I had a job which sometimes felt more like fun than work (although I probably still wouldn't do it for free); I saw my breath condense in the morning air for the first time since last winter yet still enjoyed a late-September heat wave (I wore shorts and a t-shirt on the way to work); Lara graduated from her new-born bath seat; she started eating solid food (more mush than solids); we finally acquired a coffee table for our sitting room (thanks Mark!); I started doing weights in the gym (the first time since 2005); I did four sessions of physio; my swollen ankle returned to something resembling normal; I booked a weekend ski trip in March (can't wait); for the first time since April I feel like the end might be in sight.


For someone with such a loving family around me, Ive spent an inordinate amount of time in September wishing for something more. Feeling like something was missing, ike nothing was happening. Like time was moving on but I was standing still.  One more thing that happened in September: I went climbing for the first time in six months. I could only get my left shoe half on, I was as weak as a kitten and I down-climbed everything because I was too scared to jump off. But one morning in a sweaty, chalk-dust filled climbing wall in central London was enough for me to realise what I've been missing.  I have to remind myself that it isn't the case that nothing of interest happened in my life in September.  It just sometimes felt that way. I wonder what October has in store?