September's Highs, Lows, and Glimmers of Joy ✨
How to Find Joy Amidst the Chaos
Hello there, September—what a month! It brought its share of highs and lows, including my kids’ primary school shutting down due to sickness, which caused a bit of a throwback to COVID Lockdown. My eldest also started secondary school, which brought its own unintended consequences we are currently navigating.
Taking a moment each month to look back is amazing and gives us a chance to focus on what we’ve achieved, the people we’ve supported, and, crucially, to notice the small “glimmers” of joy all around us.
Spreading Even More Glimmers on the Canalside
Speaking of glimmers, our recent training for the amazing Canal & River Trust team has been a huge milestone for us.
It’s been so rewarding to see our wellbeing tools being adopted and prepared for rollout to children and families across the UK. Seeing those ideas come to life is a definite “glimmer” for us! You can read more about it here:
The Ripple Effect of Change
For many of us, September meant navigating children going back to school or even starting a new school. My eldest started at the local secondary school, and it’s been amazing watching her go through this transition in such a positive way for both her and her friends... but there have been some ripples we weren’t expecting and we have needed to reframe to get through them…
Coaching Tips You Can Do At Home
After the recent sickness at our kids primary school some parents reached out for advice, as some children have been experiencing feelings of sickness after the sickness has gone, this is common, so to help Laura pulled together her top three tips:
Daily Glimmer Practice
I wanted to something we do as a family which helps us to connect, we’ve made a habit at meal times, where we talk about any challenges that came up, but more importantly, everyone shares a “glimmer” from their day. It’s a wonderful way to connect and start conversations.
This month, I asked everyone from the Head Office Team to share a glimmer:
Laura chose the surge in women’s rugby. “As someone who learnt to play rugby at the age of 38 ! Watching the girls play in sold-out stadiums and on TV has been incredible. The thing that truly stuck with me when I went to watch them was the sheer joy they radiated just from being on the pitch. It was so lovely to see women making it happen when people had said it couldn’t be done.”
Claire shared hers too: “Seeing my son move from an ‘I can’t’ mindset to an ‘I can’ mindset after overcoming his reluctance of joining a football club, embracing it and letting himself enjoy it. My heart bursts every time he excitedly asks how many days it is until football club. He’s so proud of having his first pair of football boots. Feeling good about himself by doing something he now realises he loves has had a much needed effect on his self belief, helping him in so many other areas of his life too.”
Me: My youngest daughter, who has been watching her big sister dance for years, took the leap and joined a class last month and she has been loving it! I’m so happy for her, and also for her fantastic dance teacher, Jenni, who creates an environment where anyone can shine. One thing that has been amazing is she has been talking so positively about the upcoming dance show and even planning ahead in her mind how its going to go well, this is what we call “future pacing”; a powerful tool often used by successful sports people to visualise success. When kids future pace positively, shine a light on it, which will encourage them to do it more. It was a beautiful moment of turning a potential anxiety into a real, positive plan.
Sport is such an incredible tool for mental health. Finding the right kind of movement—be it walking football, cricket, dance, or just a new game—is truly transformative.
What was your September glimmer? No matter how small, taking the time to notice it makes a difference. Share your moments in the comments below!