Pick Me Up! 3-Feb-2022

Reaching my 30s, I knew I was ready for a family. So, when me and my husband Gordon, 43, decided we were going to start trying, I was very excited. And that’s when we had our daughter Georgia, now four, in 2017. And just a year later, I found out I was pregnant again – with triplets! It was certainly a surprise, but a special one. Joshua, Olivia, and Emilia, now three, were all born at just 30 weeks gestation. It was a relatively straightforward pregnancy and we were all elated. Yet, when the triplets were just five-days-old, we received unexpected news. Emilia had suffered a bleed on the brain. I had no idea what this meant and I really hoped it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. However, she…

LISTEN IN After her daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia at one-years-old, Anshu Bahanda was thrown into an unknown world. With endless appointments and hospital stays, Anshu became passionate about wellness. Now, her daughter is 20-years-old and cured of the disease. However, Anshu’s dedication to health and wellbeing remains. With the launch of her podcast, Wellness Curated, she has covered topics on the likes of brain optimisation and anxiety, and spoken to many practitioners, experts and therapists from both Western and alternative traditions. Speaking to experts from all over the world, Anshu shares her dedication to health and wellbeing with you! • Listen on Spotify We’re loving Are you passionate about nature or know someone who has green fingers? Treedom is all about planting trees in the likes of Kenya and…

As my phone started ringing, I quickly snatched it up with a soppy smile. ‘Hi, Sally,’ a voice said at the end of the line. It was Gary Price, a bloke I’d met on the dating website Plenty of Fish. Since we’d matched in June last year, we’d been chatting nonstop, and now we’d progressed to phone calls. It was early days, but I had a good feeling about Gary. I was a single mum to 10-year-old twins, Grace* and Luke*, after splitting with their dad when they were five. Since then, I’d had one longterm relationship, but Grace had never liked him and she was pleased when we split. I’d been single for around seven months, and I was ready to meet someone new. Gary and I just seemed…

Playing in the garden with my little girl, she ran around giggling. Aria, then two, was naturally a happy child, with bags of energy. She always kept the five of us, my husband Carl, 43, and my three other children Abi, 19, Tom, 17 and Paige, 14, and I entertained Whether it was doing something creative, like painting, or playing catch, she was constantly busy. Suddenly Aria toppled over onto the grass, and I rushed over to scoop her up. ‘Oh no,’ I said, giving her a cuddle. But Aria was soon smiling again. It was then, in September 2020, I first noticed Aria was wobbly on her feet. Maybe her shoes are a little bit too big, I thought to myself. But when she started tripping up several times…

Sue Tappenden is a coach and people expert who helps her clients improve their relationship with themselves and others. (www.headspaceforchange.com) All been a lie Q I’ve just found out the man who raised me, who I thought was my dad, isn’t. I’m 37 and my whole life feels like a lie. I feel like I can’t trust my family. Tess, Gillingham A This must have been such a shock for you. Working through it all over time will help you to move forward and to feel more settled again. Please make sure that you have plenty of support around you. You will know which family members and friends are key for that, but talking to a counsellor or therapist, who is not emotionally involved, may also be of benefit. Talking…

ACROSS 1 Dark and _, rum cocktail (6) 4 Rope-pulling contest (3-2-3) 10 Main roads (9) 11 Ogle (3,2) 12 Strainer (5) 13 The breed of 1 Down’s dog, Santa’s Little Helper (9) 14 Sleepwear (7) 16 See 1 Down (4) 19 See 1 Down (4) 21 _ Skinner, 19 Across’s teacher and nemesis (7) 24 Referred to previously (9) 25 Field border (5) 26 Montgomery _, 25 Down’s boss at the nuclear power plant (5) 27 Congregated (9) 28 Emphasises (8) 29 _ the Clown, 19 Across’s TV idol (6) DOWN 1 The _, animated sitcom family made up of 16 Across, 19 Across, 3 Down, 9 Down & 25 Down (8) 2 Override, take precedent over (8) 3 See 1 Down (5) 5 Rise (7) 6 Rash, too…