Life recently feels like it has been on fast forward. Is anyone else feeling the same way? Things have been really hectic with work and life. I’m not sure if I mentioned it on here or not, but mum had a really serious fall a year ago stepping out of a taxi after having gone out (more or less for the first time that year because of Covid) to get her flu vaccine. A shattered pelvis, broken shoulder and chronic dislocation of her shoulder amongst multiple lacerations ensued, and mum was hospitalised for a really long time and worst of all, we couldn’t be there to see her or help her get through. Like so many others, she was left isolated in a ward alone. I absolutely understand and support the reasons why. I would much prefer that my wonderful mum be protected from outside visitors etc potentially bringing in Covid . However, the whole thing has had a serious and detrimental effect on mum’s health as a whole and now she is, regrettably, failing daily. There have been multiple more hospital visits in the last year and her physical and mental presence is diminished. I can only best describe mum now as a beautiful picture that is slowly fading away, the colours aren’t quite as vibrant, sepia tones are creeping in and the outlines aren’t as sharp as they once were. It’s been difficult.
To keep myself on something of an even keel, I have been trying to get out running when I can, though most mornings I just want to put the duvet back over my head and pretend there aren’t issues to be dealt with. Running, though, is really good for both my physical and mental health and allows me to shake off some of my worries and anxiety so I have to keep reminding myself of that.
I wear my Fitbit Luxe every day and it helps me keep an eye on how my fitness is doing and honestly, if it wasn’t for my intention to beat my step count or improve my quality of sleep, I’m not sure I’d have kept up my running. So I would say fitness trackers really do work. Mine even gives me a little reminder each hour to get up and get moving before the hour is over and actually it can be really helpful, especially if you are chair or desk bound most days.
If you know someone in your life that is going through a difficult time and needs more time looking after themselves, I would honestly say a fitness tracker is a great Christmas gift idea. I know that sounds odd, but it really helps to remind the wearer (in this case, me) that they need to spend some time looking after themselves.
Alternatively, if you are someone who keeps promising you are going to get in shape and you are thinking it’s too close to Christmas now for that, it really isn’t. It’s about two months away. Think about what you could achieve in that time!
Fortunately, we have a Fitbit Today’s Special Value coming up this weekend. It’s the Fitbit Charge 5 Health and Fitness Tracker with 6 months premium subscription.
Abby Horne will be joining me to tell me all about it and it’s on pre-launch at 9pm on Friday and then it will be on-air all day Saturday.
If you are thinking about Christmas and getting in the festive mood, then Yankee Candle is a great way to set the scene at home. To help with that, we have a Yankee Candle Today’s Special Value coming up on 2nd November.
It’s a six-piece Ultimate Wax Collection, consisting of two large jar candles, two medium jar candles and two small jar candles, all in your choice of either a single fragrance or an assortment of classic/festive fragrances. That’s 510 hours of burn time and all on 4 Easy Pay interest-free instalments!
This allows you to present the whole collection to a lucky loved one, split the candles up for gifting, or treat yourself and fill your own home with exquisite aroma – the choice is yours!
There are 8 different options in the Today’s Special Value to choose from – yes, that’s right, 8 different options. You can either go full-on Festive with a combination of fragrances or have the whole set in one fragrance, or do the same but with some classic fragrances.
This Today’s Special Value will even contain some brand new fragrances too, including Twinkling Lights in the Glad Tidings option and Farm Fresh Peach in the Super Fruits option, so there is something for everyone here.
It’s also the last Yankee Candle Today’s Special Value before Christmas, so this really is the time to get yours!
It is available to order now on our website – just click here to find out more and place your order before they’re all gone!
Your Today’s Special Value options are:
Festive Options:
- Festive Favourites (assortment) – Christmas Eve, Snow in Love, Sparkling Cinnamon
- Glad Tidings (assortment) – Twinkling Lights (New), Holiday Hearth, Evergreen Mist
- Spiced Orange (entire collection is one fragrance)
- All is Bright (entire collection is one fragrance)
Core/Classic Options:
- Dreamy Home Comforts (assortment) – Clean Cotton, Lemon Lavender, A Calm & Quiet Place
- Super Fruits (assortment) – Black Coconut, Farm Fresh Peach (New), Black Cherry
- Cherry Blossom (entire collection is one fragrance)
- Midnight Jasmine (entire collection is one fragrance)
Finally, before I go, I wanted to share a bit of a blooper with you. I try to be as professional as I can, but, like I said, life has been really hectic recently, both at work and in my personal life. As a consequence my braIn sometimes tries to do, or, say multiple things at the same time. The consequence being that I don’t get anything right and what else can you do when that happens but laugh! I was on air the other night, launching our first ever Emma Mattress Today’s Special Value. All the stock we had available sold out in about 15 minutes. During the break, there was a lot of discussions about if and how we could get more stock for the midnight airing. I was so taken aback by how fast everything sold out that as we came back from a break, my brain just couldn’t decide what sentence I should start with. Poor Amy Burrows who was joining me to talk about Northern Nights bedding wasn’t really sure what was happening! Here is a little glimpse of the consequences.
Until next time, look after yourselves, and remember to laugh at yourself sometimes too!
Miceal X
7 Responses
So sorry to hear of your moms poor health. It is so very sad to see someone you love slowly fading. It is good to hear you have your coping mechanisms in place, some days you cope and other days you cant. I’m sure you have your friends and family around to help support you. And it’s good to chat. Look after yourself.
Love Karen x
Oh Miceal my heart goes out to you and your dear Mum. I have no words that will help except to say you are not alone in this. I lost my lovely mum earlier this year and due to COVID and distance didn’t see her for the last year of her life. It haunts me every day. All we can do is carry on the best
we can. That is what mums would want for us.
Take care.
Dee
Sorry to hear about your Mum. I have been thinking about my late Mum recently. Her birthday was Halloween, she died soon after her 85th birthday in Nov 2009. She was an avid knitter and as I can knit but my sister cannot, I inherited her knitting stuff. I was looking for a tape measure this week and looked into her knitting bag. It was a bit emotional even after all this time.
Looking forward to the new Fitbit as I think I need an upgrade
Hi Miceal
I have just read your blog and am so sorry to hear about your mum and her failing health. Life can be so cruel at times. I know what you are going through as I had to watch my lovely mum deteriorate. I felt so very alone even though I have a brother, but he lives in Australia. You are doing the best you can and must look after yourself too. You are a good person and a favourite presenter on QVC. Take care. Sue x
Hi Miceal, I have been following your posts about your mum and am so sorry to hear that she is so poorly. It’s so hard to see. I know exactly how you feel as my dad is in the same place. He’s quite a long way from me but as we are now able to go and see him again, I go as often as I can and am saddened by the decline I can see with each visit. The only saving grace is that he is in a wonderful nursing home where care is second to none. Nothing can turn the clock back, however much we wish it could. Your mum will know how much you love her and I hope you can take some comfort from family and friends around you. Much love xxx
Miceal , my thoughts are with you. I’m going through exactly the same thing as you, it’s awful watching your parents get old and deteriorate Infront of your eyes. You are lucky you have supportive siblings. I’m getting through it with fresh air and reiki healing seems to be helping too. Take care . Look after yourself xx
So sorry to hear about mum sending all my love to her and you are in my prayers daily and sending hugs to you both xxx