WOMAN ON THE VERGE: Horrified by Hallowe’en displays and Santa ads!

The dust hasn’t even settled on the Rose of Tralee yet and we’re already being hit with an avalanche of Hallowe’en and Christmas ads. Aren’t we supposed to be, hashtag, living in the moment? Does anyone even know what date it is anymore? 

• A SCAN of my Google history this week screams: ‘that’s a wrap on summer ‘23.’

The search list included: healthy lunchbox ideas; how to get your child to try new foods; nutritious sandwich fillers; how to get bed time routine restored; what’s the weather like tomorrow; what’s the weather like this afternoon; what’s the weather like in an hour’s time; what’s the latest on Ryan Tubridy.’ And so on.

The lunchbox, specifically what to put in it, is what’s really occupying my mind.

How I rejoiced when I was able to retire it to the back of the Tupperware drawer in June, and now I feel it taunting me as it prepares to take centre stage on the worktop yet again.

I wouldn’t mind in the slightest except that my smallie is a bit of a particular eater. She’s got a limited menu of what she will ingest and to be fair it does contain a lot of nutritious stuff. It’s just that she can’t be coaxed into trying anything new, so it all gets very tedious by around October. All my plans to get her to be more adventurous with her food this summer failed drastically and while Tayto sandwiches were perfect for the beach, I figure they may not go down so well in the classroom.

Anyway, I did what I always do – I enlisted the help of my sister.

She’s mum of three boys, and navigated two of them through dinner-time aversions to a place where it’s now one meal option only, like it or lump it. On a recent day my smallie spent with them, curry and rice was on the menu, with some chopped raw peppers on the side.

Now, if she had been at home it would have been an all-out refusal, but because she knew that wouldn’t cut the mustard, she managed a few (tiny) bites, and brought the peppers to within a few inches of her mouth even if she didn’t eat any, so look, I’ll call it progress. I’m not sure she’s quite forgiven her aunt yet, though!

My husband is a superb cook and serves up a wide repertoire of food. He’s got a tough crowd to please, though, as I must admit that I’m not mad about meat, or even fish, for that matter. Before I got married I survived mainly on pasta with grated cheese, sometimes with a little chopped up sausage thrown in if I was feeling fancy.

To be honest, it would still be my ‘go to’ meal if I was on my own.

I also have a weakness for those little frankfurters that come in a jar, and easy cheese singles (I’m embarrassed for myself too) and I will always go for the common sliced pan ahead of the sourdough. Yeah, so no idea where my smallie gets it from, none at all. 

• We celebrated our wedding anniversary this week. Well, when I say celebrated, we both noted the date and then got on about our business. It’s our 11th, and I can definitely say the first 10 were the hardest! I think we’ll stay the course now as, to be honest, I’ve no idea how to work our heating system, the dog won’t take her tablets for me, and I can never remember the computer passwords for anything. 

Apparently I’ve also developed a snoring habit so sure who else would have me? Jokes aside, it’s always a nice opportunity to reflect on the day which still stands out as a great one in my memory. There was so much love in the room – or else the drinks reception had made people half tipsy – either way we felt like rock stars for a few hours at least. I’m definitely someone who struggles with being in the moment. I tend to look forwards, backwards, to the right and left, I think about what he/she said, what I said, what I should have said, what I think they meant etc, but on the day I was perfectly in the moment, thanks only to a few spritzes of Rescue Remedy. It was a minor miracle. I must get myself a fresh supply!

• Speaking of being in the moment, all the shop displays and ads I’m already seeing for Hallowe’en isn’t helping at all. It’s bonkers. Are people actually buying these things? Aren’t we meant to be more sustainable? And if you bought all the stuff last year, why would you want to buy more this year? I’m not getting it. I’m even seeing options to book Santa visits and I know people who have actually secured their spots.

This is where I struggle. Do I follow the crowd and do the same, even though it seems absolutely insane? Or do I wing it and take a chance that Santa will have five minutes to squeeze us some place come December? I’m bracing myself for the announcements of Christmas pantos next. Oh yes I am! Sure, it’s no wonder we’re all half cracked (pass the Rescue Remedy). 

• So you know how last week I was raving about The Last of Us? Sorry about that, it turned out to be awful tripe altogether. I kept giving it another chance but then I saw a post on Instagram (it’s the type of show where you can watch and scroll, my favourite type), how a quarter of the year is still to play for, and that we could still action some goals.

That inspired me to switch over to Netflix (probably not what the poster had in mind) where I’m currently watching Painkiller. It’s very like Dopesick but quite watchable. I gave the Rose of Tralee a wide berth, not just because Daithí is an acquired taste, but because the highly accomplished young women make me feel a bit inadequate. 

• What’s our take on Tubs? To be honest, I lost my way entirely in the saga once the flipflops came into the mix (I was wildly distracted wondering if they were Havaianas or Reef). But for what it’s worth I’ll really miss him on the radio. I’ve been enthralled by Terry Prone’s analysis of the situation, though. I know communications is her business, but she does it so well, and she’s so decent and kind even when she’s saying things that might sting a bit. I think she should get that radio slot, an hour in her company every morning would set us all up nicely for the day. 

• Finally, if you hadn’t noticed, it’s blackberry season and it’s my opinion there’s nothing more grounding than grabbing a container (not the lunch box, that will just spoil the mood) and heading off to pick to your heart’s content. There’s an abundance of berries this year and I’ve seen loads of people out and about getting in on the action. There’ll be turf wars next over who gets to pick where! My sister-in-law made the most delicious blackberry crumble the other day and served it with a generous dollop of custard, it was absolutely restorative. The equivalent of eating a gigantic hug. Restorative.

‘Pie’ fives all round!