The start of a new chapter...

Today marks a new point in my life.  At 4pm I said goodbye to my hubby, Mark, who is off on a 7 month tour of Afghanistan with the British Army, and returned home to take on the newly appointed role of single mum to my 11 month old boy, Alby, and bulldog, Percy.

And with this new chapter, I'm taking on the challenge of keeping a blog to record the highs and lows of life on the other side of deployment. 

Let's get one thing straight from the start: I am not claiming to be doing anything heroic.  Alongside me were dozens of other mums, with babes in arms or toddlers running around their feet - some with both.  This blog isn't about self promotion.

Rather, this is a little dare to myself - do I have the discipline, writing style and skill to keep this going for a whole 7 months?  Only time will tell. 
Also, I'm hoping it will help in some way to fill those wonderfully therapeutic conversations Mark and I usually have at the end of the day.  A chance to unload from the day's events, share the key moments and just take some time out for me.
Finally - and probably most importantly, it's about offering a quick and easy way for Mark and my closest family and friends (all of whom live far too far away from me) to see what is going on. 

Saying goodbye to daddy