A Tinge of Sadness....
Today was the first day during which I managed to stop briefly. Since collecting the van almost a week ago, we have not really had a chance to take stock. Moving into a new home is never easy, surrounded by boxes and trying to find space for all sorts of accumulated stuff. We are still not there yet, but we are beginning to get used to the space and find our way round, Familiar items make such a difference.
Andrew has set up his office space, and I my little recording studio. We went to the nearest bank and set up our local account, and the efficiency was exemplary, it has to be said. Within 45 minutes, we had an account and the utilities had been put in our name and we felt a connection to the country.
It will take some time to get adjusted to the idea that this is not a holiday and that we now live here. Live here, in this glorious country with scenery that takes the breath away.
The sheer joy at being here and starting on this year-long adventure has brought with it its own tinge of sadness. Andrew’s Mum, Al, died in August. It was not unexpected as the cancer that hit her some 12 years ago reappeared with a vengeance. Al was an adventurer and when we first announced our plans to live for a year in Spain, she was immediately supportive; the thumbs up from a woman who drove from London to India in a Landrover in the early 1960s. Al would have loved to have seen us here, I feel, and only this evening Andrew wanted to tell his Mum that the Le Creuset pan she bought came into its own.
My own Mum is 88 years old but has vascular dementia and has little idea, these days, of who we are, what we are doing and where we are. I have not felt able to tell my Mum, who I love dearly, where I am as I can’t give her cause for confusion when the slightest change in her routine can result in upset. My mum was always my greatest supporter and friend and I am hugely saddened that I can’t share this part of my life with her in any meaningful way. This move has brought this home to both of us.
That said, one of the fundamental reasons for this year abroad was to bring us closer to those people who are closest to us, and we do look forward to having Andrew’s Dad, and brother and sister and their respective families to come and share this special place. Likewise, I cannot wait to have my own brothers and their families to stay to reignite the relationship that we did once have and that became fragmented as we grew up. Perhaps that is what this year is about, above everything.
