Opening the Door

Hi, I'm Cayce, and I'm one of those people whose mood and body chemistry is highly sensitive to light.  Highly.
It's why I don't take naps, why my patience decreases with diminishing hours of daylight in the Winter, and why the upper half of the Dutch door in my kitchen is flung open every morning it's remotely warm enough to do so.

 

While the weather was actually much milder than I experienced in the US, the gray skies and persistent damp of our first Winter here took it's toll on me. 
Yes, I was still keeping up with my responsibilities at home, but I'd stopped writing, exploring, and really connecting with friends.
I wasn't full-on depressed, but I was out of sorts for sure. 
I was meeting more new English confectionary than new English people.  (Why Hello, 10 Pounds!)

Self-care is the best word for what I was lacking.

But Winter has passed and we are fast approaching our One Year Anniversary of moving to the United Kingdom.  (Our Britiversary?)
Our first UK Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring have produced everything from pipes freezing and bursting to exploring new European countries...

and many more quiet yet equally memorable experiences in between.

I'm going to get back to sharing more about our time here because I know it is special, and when I have something good in my life, I like to share it.  

Whether it's paying compliments, texting a pic of a happy child, or giving a neighbor some of the flowers I got at the grocery store, sharing things that make me happy doesn't take my joy away -- it just multiplies it. 

So I'm going to keep opening the door.
It doesn't just let outside light flood in, it lets my light spread outward as well.