Flight of fancy

As Caro Giles approaches summer with greater self-understanding and growing support, possibility and potential fill the air...

Summer is usually the season when I feel lightest. My body is less constrained because I am wearing less. There are mornings when I put music into my ears and run down the hill towards the river, or splash along a gleaming beach while the weight of life floats away. Sometimes, I shed my skin in the waves and race back covered in sea salt. Sun streams through my shutters while the children sleep, and there is an edge to the days that comes from feeling exposed and full of potential.

After years of physically hiding away, caring for poorly children and trapped by circumstance, this year in particular feels like an opportunity to grab with both hands. My life is full of love and hope, and this makes me buoyant, because I am being held in ways I have never been held before. I am still free to be me, but I am more confident in others wanting the best for me, and I'm trying to let those people in; accept support, and not see it as a weakness.