Sophie's Diary: Life is too short to not appreciate the small things

The perks of living on a hill in Falkirk which, if I do say so myself, has one of the best views in Scotland are quite substantial.

Quite often I find myself at the top of my hill, sitting next to the William Wallace memorial stone and looking out to the Ochil hills, right across Fife and to the left over to Stirling. The view I’m blessed to live by is pretty cracking during the day, but at night time it’s something else. Millions and millions of lights completely light up the sky and the Firth of Forth and its nothing less than breathtaking.

I had every intention of heading up to my spot on the hill earlier this week to catch a glimpse of the ‘super moon’ but, once again, life just got in the way.

I think the problem I have is I take too much on board and don’t leave time to appreciate the smaller things. This time last year, I would’ve watched the super moon for the three nights it was out because chances are I had the time to do so. But on Sunday I was driving home from England; Monday night played host to a staff meeting; Tuesday I was ill and in bed (probably from exhaustion, I am the busiest bee in the hive). Watching the news on Monday evening, I realised that the next time the super moon will shine so brightly is in around 30 years’ time. By then I’ll be 49 and who knows what kind of responsibilities I’ll have.

I suppose one could argue there were plenty photos taken of the moon over the space of the last week, but I know absolutely nothing could have compared it to sitting at my spot on the hill and looking at it. In my 19 years, I’ve learned life’s too short to not appreciate the small things. There’s something magical about the freezing wind in your face, looking out over the view. Roll on the next super moon – 30 years is a long time to wait.