HOW TO STRESS LESS by Penny Dolan

The start of March, and a quick post to finish off a couple of very busy weeks.
                          

Recently, I walked into town for some real-world shopping: not for the usual loaf and lunch items but for something that seemed far more stressful. I was after a gift for a very young relative and, as the present would be crossing to Canada, I needed to choose something easily packable.

Something soft and light, perhaps? A particularly sweet, fluffy teddy bear caught my eye for a while. However, I recalled an image from the last family party and how a menagerie of stuffed animals in all shapes and sizes ran along the nursery shelves already. Another furry teddy, no matter how cute, was probably not what was needed.

                                      
Clothes, maybe? I walked through the racks of cute outfits, and sighed. The designs and fabrics were all so much more beautiful now! Regrettably, delightful winter garments still seemed too small or too big for their particular age-label, and way too small to use as hand-me-ons after the autumn came around.

Besides, do children (or their parents) like bright primary colours or do they prefer pale neutral tones now? Do the children have to look as if they work, visually, with the décor in this social media age? It felt like a nightmare! The whole gift-shopping task was, as they say, stressing me out . . . 

And so I did the only wise thing possible. I went to, and deep into a good, nearby bookshop.              

                             

As soon as I was there, standing among the quantities of books, I felt the tension fading away. Phew. Breathe out. Relax. That’s so much better! A bookshop - or a library - will do this for me every time.

Although I did enjoy all the looking, I ended up with a couple of well- beloved board-books whose stories should fit perfectly and comfortably, and also be welcome for far longer than one season. The books are usually a size that fits all, as well as being easily packable and postable too. Job done.

                     

What a pleasure it is to think of the two lovely books going halfway across the world to reach their destination, even if the parcel won’t arrive until well after the UK’s World Book Day on 6th March 2025.
                                                              
Happy reading, everyone, whenever and wherever you are! Onwards . . .
Penny Dolan