Parting is such sweet sorrow

We have just spent our last weekend in the UK before we embark on our adventure, and it has been a very (unexpectedly) emotional one.

On my last day at work, I received some lovely messages from clients and these marked the start of a fairly tough day!  Lunch was followed by a round of leaving drinks and what amounted to a strange experience: actually feeling really rather sad to be leaving my place of work.  In normal circumstances, leaving one place of work is a relief as you are either moving on to a better or exciting new job, and/or are leaving the old one because you hated it.  I was genuinely moved by the farewell, and the wishes from both clients and colleagues.

On the Saturday, we had another leaving drinks, at our local pub, and this time for family and non-work friends - a relaxed and informal affair.  It went on into the small hours and it became clear that, what to us feels like to=he start of a holiday is perceived by my family as being something far more of a deal with almost traumatic repercussions.  Psychologically, to us, moving to Spain is no more of a relocation than if we were, say, to move to Scotland.  To my children, however, this is a major move and if I look at it from their perspective, it is.  Growing up, we lived together obviously, and even when they started to spread their wings I have never been that far away, geographically.  Now, we are going to be a flight away; inconvenient if you do want to just meet up for a quick pint.

I know that this is the right move for us in so many ways, not least because it will provide the children with the opportunity to come and stay for a period of time during which we can relax and chat, and eat together, and experience new things.  That is a fundamental reason for this move.  Interestingly, emotional thought it has been, it has also revealed a lot in us all that has already brought us even closer together, and I can’t wait to have our families under our roof.