Neuro Christmas
It is that time of year where we all have to seem like we are all expected to have a wonderful time. Don’t get me wrong there are bits of it that I love. I love crisp Winter days, I love cosy evenings in with comfort at the heart of everything. I love seeing my closest friends and I love seeing how excited my kids get.
For me, and I know my neuro pals also struggle, it is the relentless extra stuff that has to happen. It is the extensive school activities and things to remember. The whole house takes on a different look, there is ‘stuff’ coming out of every corner and the ‘organised fun’. I don’t like big social events, the thought of small talk with people that I haven’t chosen to spend time with makes my toes curl. Getting trussed up like a turkey to go and endure people drinking too much and talking in close proximity with their berry breathe,,,no thanks and I am certainly not going to be paying a premium just because you arranged some dodgy cover act. There seems to be a new and more expensive kids event EVERY year, not just popping to see Santa in the shopping centre. It’s Santa on an island, Santa in a cave, Santa on Safari, Light up zoos, Lantern extravaganzas, full on Lapland in the UK. When does it end?
Busy shops, food shop hysteria just leave me in a sweaty state of indecision!
I am not sure when things go so focused on ‘things’. I desperately want my kids to see it as a lovely time to cosy in, enjoy family time and relax. The world around us seems to fight that concept. People think they can pass judgement ‘you are a miserable !@sta!d’ or tight ‘ar!e’ why can’t we just be?
I crave normality and calm. I am the person hoofing the Christmas tree into the garden on the 27th. I can’t help it, I need routine and I need organised and familiar spaces, I need my house to smell like it should.
This year we are doing things a little different, it has caused a bit of a stir and we have been questioned but people will still get things, the kids will still get magic and sparkle but our souls will feel a little fuller and I won’t be waiting for it to be over. I want to spend the time enjoying every minute with a heart that feels full and at ease.
Let’s encourage choices, let’s discourage judgement and pressure. Be brave and be you.
As I always say this time of year, Spring is round the corner. A wise friend told me that 2026 is the Year of the Horse, a year for being bold and acheiving! Sit tight, fire up those Essential oils, I think it will be a beautiful year for many.
Living with a super nose
It all begins with an idea.
It took 37 years for me to learn that I wasn’t awkward, pedantic or picky. I am not ‘off-ish’ or ‘difficult’ I am actually autistic. It felt like It all made sense. My diagnosis unlocked the key to self acceptance, if only I had been able to get that much earlier on!
The biggest insight to come from this process was the reason and understanding behind my life-long fixation with smell. Smell for me genuinely rules my life. I avoid going to places that smell in certain ways on certain days. Sometimes I can tolerate it more than others. I will actively avoid certain people for the way they smell, I don’t mean a classic ‘bad smell’ just smells that make me feel irritable, uncomfortable and physically sick…even make me physically cry. I can be totally distracted from even a basic conversation. I purposefully seek out smells that I love, they can make me feel at ease, vibrant and full of excitement.
It is so hard to explain this to anyone who isn’t like me but at 39 and fully informed, I realised how I can take all of this and translate it into a business that serves to support other people like me, to embrace it and see it as my super power!
My blog will share my personal experience with the world through the lens of a super nose! I hope to reach those that experience the world as I do, in full technicolor smell! I want to create a place where people feel welcome, supported and our super noses can run free.
Faye
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