Never a crossword

If someone asks me what I do in my spare time, my stock standard response is that I don't have any spare time. I have four children and run a business; how am I going to have spare time. Of course this isn't really true. I suppose I think that because I remember spare time as being hours spent lounging about, reading books, (usually when I should have been doing something else admittedly) but those days are long gone. These days, 'spare time' activities are stuffed into grabbed seconds between other tasks.

I read, a lot. I shouldn't have time to get through the amount of books I consume, but that doesn't seem to stop me. Having the ability to take a book with me anywhere helps. I can read on my kindle, and then later read a bit of the same book on my phone. I have also been known, (on quite a regular basis if I'm honest) to read a page or two while making breakfast, or packing lunches, or even on a quick loo visit. Sometimes those books you can't put down, really are books you can't put down.

These days my spare time fillers tend to be reading, writing, and watching a bit of TV. I do sew and knit, but not nearly as much as I would like or used to. I suppose that those hobbies may experience a bit of a renaissance if ever I do manage to reclaim some real spare time. A girl can always dream.

Something I do love doing though, is puzzles. I spent most of my labour with both of the boys with a pen and puzzle book in hand. The girls' were a little bit too fast for me to have much chance, but I indulged afterwards, in the hospital. I like logic puzzles, a lot, crosswords are good too. Particularly cryptic ones. Not that I'm as good at them as I'd like to be, but I am getting better. I suppose that it's all part of a love of language and words, the best cryptic clues are those that make you smile when you suddenly get them. Almost like a clever little joke that you really have to think about in order to get.

Even though I don't have a lot of time for these things, I think that it's probably important to take time to actually do something for the sake of it, just for fun and relaxation. Using your brain to solve something, or escape to another place. It's so easy to get bogged down in the day to day trudge of life, and spending some time on something that's just for you can really help, Using crosswords (and my other hobbies) helps to ensure that there are fewer cross words spoken in our house. I sometimes feel guilty if I take a few minutes for something that doesn't really matter, or achieve anything, but of course, that isn't true. It does achieve a lot, it helps me feel good and more relaxed.