the universe is in us

I think I survived the first day back in school. I'm not entirely sure my brain has. Remind me again what stars are?

And exams start next week so there's lot of panicking students which, truth be told, are a little bit exhausting. Why do they wait til now to realise they've got info gaps from work covered in November, or that they didn't understand something we studied in October?

I try to be patient with them though because I do remember what it was like to be a student, I know what it's like to have paper/research deadlines suddenly creep up you and tackle you to the ground.
I try to help them, and reassure them. I try to coach them and guide them. I want them to succeed.

One trick I learned many years ago to boost their confidence when they're stressing is to give them a compliment. It has to sincere though - teenagers/young adults are terrifyingly adept at spotting an insincerity. I wish they could teach me how! But a genuine "You make a really good point about..." or an "I love your shirt" or "your hair looks cute that colour" brightens them up and almost fortifies them. And it spreads and suddenly everyone feels better - including me.

It's so easy to do, and lets face it, most people like receiving a compliment. It does give us a boost and it makes me smile - both giving and receiving

Lucy and I had ourselves a spa day today, just the two of us. It was a Christmas present from Jack and it was absolute bliss. I had a full body aromatherapy massage, and a 'vitamin c boost' facial. The package he'd bought us also included a coffee on arrival, a two-course buffet lunch and a glass of prosecco. We also treated ourselves to afternoon tea (with more prosecco) and a mani/pedi.

I felt so pampered and relaxed, we spent quite a lot of time just lazing around as well which was really nice. I want to try the reflexology treatment, there's a hot oil/sea salt treatment that looks interesting, there's a hot stones massage and they do mud treatments as well.

And I don't get to spend enough one-on-one time with Lucy so we've talked about maybe making it regular thing, once every couple of months or so. Maybe even make it a weekend getaway one of the times when Jack's away fishing.