This has been a fun-filled week. I am learning creative writing and taking part in an online course. One exercise was to do one of 5 things for one week. This was to gain new experiences and to inspire. I have tried to take part in activities that I would not normally do to provide me with ideas for writing so this has been a week with many new experiences.

Here is a rundown of what has happened. On Monday, Super Sarah and I went for a walk (I was in my mobility scooter) in Lochend Park. I have had an ear infection so had to escape from my prison and the couch! There was the threat of rain, you could just feel it in the air, but it was a great relief when we arrived home without feeling a raindrop.

Super Sarah took the basketball with her and was bouncing it as we moved. A dog soon realised what was happening and dashed up to us to try to steal the basketball! The wee monster didn’t manage to catch it though thankfully, or I would have had an inconsolable Super Sarah on my hands.

On our way round the park, we witnessed ducks simply disappearing under the water. Just at the point when you think that they have committed suicide, they reappear, popping out of the water in one smooth movement. We saw the beautiful cygnets that live with their mother at the park. We have become fond friends with these little, fluffy birds and visit them often. They are incredibly cute! We reluctantly dragged ourselves away and headed home.

It was lovely and sunny on Tuesday, much too sunny to wallow in self pity on the couch again. Unsure of what to do, we headed back to the lovely park with a picnic. Before we sat down to eat, we decided to visit the cygnets again, a must when you are round that way. Super Sarah had brought her trusty basketball with her again, hoping to shoot some hoops whilst we were round there. However, we decided to tuck into our sandwiches first. This was a colossal mistake, no sooner had we taken a bite, these boys turned up and started kicking a ball about. Can you believe it, children playing at the park when Super Sarah wanted to?!

It was incredibly warm at the park, so I wanted to start moving again. Super Sarah had brought some chalk in case I wanted to get creative. It turns out that she wanted to get creative. She drew a track for me to race round in my scooter, complete with pictures and quotes! It was fantastic!

After zooming about a bit, we noticed that the basketball hoop was free so Super Sarah went over and started to play whilst I got creative with the chalk. Exhausted after our fun walk, we made our way home.

Wednesday was a lot calmer, I was exhausted from the activities of the day before and still a little under the weather. I needed out of the house, that prison was no longer good for my mental health! We went down to Ocean Terminal and visited the Starbucks that we quite often frequent. Super Sarah had her business plan to work on whilst I had a lot of coursework to complete. I was plugged into Spotify and working my magic on the blank page in front of me! This could only last for so long as the seats are so very hard, so after a few hours and a very numb bum, we slowly made our way back to the car.

On Thursday, we had no idea what to do. I was due back to work the following day so we wanted to do something practical. But instead, we headed of to Livingston to do some shopping! The first stop was for lunch, my stomach would not have had this any other way. We then slowly meandered our way through the insane amounts of people that littered this shopping centre.

Though my anxiety has improved with the medication, crowds are not something that I enjoy. I think it is because I am lower down in my scooter and every other person steps in front of me! This afternoon was particularly stressful and it had gotten to the stage where I wanted to aim for certain people and push the accelerator!

After a few hours, and a much depleted bank balance, we started the drive back to Edinburgh and home.

I was back to work on Friday, but the best part of the day for me is my lunch hour. This is one hour of the day dedicated to eating and reading – my two favourite things! I love that one hour, where I can be quiet and lose myself in a fictional world. I can be contemplative in this peaceful moment whilst munching a sandwich. A brilliant hour!

Saturday was simply perfect. We met one of my school friends for lunch and I struggled about Ocean Terminal for a while. After a lovely meal and a proper giggle, Super Sarah and I headed home. As soon as we sat down, we realised that we were not ready to settle for the evening so we headed out to our beloved park to visit the cygnets!

It was a beautiful evening, picture perfect. The sun was low and peering through the gaps in the trees and the air was warm and vitamin D enriched (good for the MS!). We discovered that a new swan has moved in since the last male passed away, so there should be more cygnets to watch grow up next year! I could have stayed for hours listening to the sounds of nature – the birds chirping and the soft breeze blowing through the leaves. I really felt like my soul had been cleansed.

We decided to go for a wander but we realised that one of the cygnets had been left behind when the mother and the others went swimming. They had vanished and the little one was lost! Whilst this makes for a great childrens story to help them cope with separation anxiety, I was struggling to accept what had happened as the mother swan keeps such a close eye on her young. She was further round the loch with her other babies and didn’t look too fussy about one being missing. I know she was under a lot of stress, a single mother with 4 children, but you’d think she would have still panicked a little! The stress of this ordeal sent us home.

This brings us to the final day, today. I participated in my first 5k (in my mobility scooter!). This was with Subway and they were raising funds for a healthy heart charity, so we were doing this for our Dads. What an amazing day we had! We were with some great friends and the sun was out. I felt so happy and healthy as we set off, Super Sarah jogging beside me, I go a whole 4 miles an hour in my scooter you know!

This was a family event so there were loads of kids participating, it was really great to see. There were many wee children that probably could have done with a lift in my scooter basket! I saw a Dad run past with a small boy on his shoulder. The boy shouted ‘my legs are tired’ and the Dad retorted ‘how do you think I feel!’. This made me giggle.

We were coming to the end of the first hill when we spotted a participant in her electric wheelchair, she had broken down. She was quite upset and worked up as she was essentially stuck, but Super Sarah, as her name suggests, saved the day. She helped this woman get back on the road and finish the race!

Going down the hill was a lot of fun, the scooter goes a bit faster and I could feel the breeze rushing through my hair. We approached the finish line with glee and a roar erupted from the crowd as we crossed the finish line (I may have romanticized this in my head a bit!).

We were truly spoiled at this stage. We received our medal and a bottle of water along with a coupon for a free lunch provided by Subway! We collected this and gathered on the grass with our friends and had a lovely lunch in the sun, absorbing this fun experience. My first 5k was complete!

All of these experiences were completed as part of my creative writing course, but I love the impact that this week has had on my life. If I could recommend that you do one thing, it would be to experience new things as much as possible. You just don’t know how much fun you will have unless you try things. This will lead to a very happy and fulfilling life.