Well, where did that week go?! Seriously, if you want life to go on fast forward then try the last few days of the run up to a huge and momentous, life-changing event! Guess it's pretty much like the run-up to a wedding when you suddenly think of all the things you still have to do and realise that time's running out to do them!
I find that as I drive around I am saying a silent goodbye to some places. I wondered if this was a little overly sentimental so mentioned it to Ian only to find that he has been doing the same thing! The reality is now starting to sink in. We have dreamed of doing something like this for so long and were then busy planning to do so. But now the dream has pretty much finished the planning stage and we're now facing the reality. And this is scary to be honest - in a good way - but scary! We've both felt a bit fluttery over the last few days and have had some nights where our overactive brain wakes us up either running through things we still have to do or sort out, or by roaming around all that we are leaving behind. So on top of everything else we're both rather more tired that usual. This brings me to.....stress.
The sheer amount of things we have to do, over and above actually packing, is definitely stressful! These range from notifying all the utilities all of whom have different notice periods, changing our UK mobiles to pay-as-you-go, selling stuff on eBay, making sure everything doggy related is in place, organising rug cleaning, attending the dentist for check-ups, shredding years of old paperwork and keeping only what we actually need, bank appointments, catching up with more friends, trips to the tip..... it just seems never-ending and feels like we need another 24 hours in each day. So what with this and the relative lack of sleep, we have both had our tetchy moments! Therefore TOP TIP: be aware that this is a stressful time and cut both yourself and your other half (and anyone else involved) some slack. Now is not the time to be over-sensitive or precious; all involved need to dig in and pull together. But trust us, although this is an exciting time, it's also tiring, stressful and emotional. So at the risk of sounding like some sort of mindfulness coach, be kind - to yourself and each other 😚
Another issue is that of leaving children/grandchildren. I have four children and one grandchild, Ian has two children and five grandchildren. My oldest child currently lives in Canada and has lived/worked abroad on and off for some time and hasn't lived remotely nearby for any real length of time since he left for university way back. But the other three (all girls) and my granddaughter all live in or near Worthing. Naturally they could all scatter in due course and even if they all remained in the UK could live a long way apart. This would still leave me with the dilemma of where to live to regularly see any of them. So I feel that Mallorca is no different; it is further in terms of miles but actually quicker , not to mention possibly cheaper, to travel back to the UK than to drive or catch a train within the UK. BUT the perpetual mother's guilt (mums will know exactly what I mean!) means that I somehow feel guilty for moving away rather than the other way around. Whether or not I would feel this way if I was moving to say Wales, I have no idea! I guess the guilt habit is hard to break. But not doing this is not an option. As the title of this blog states - life's too short and you never know when life will throw a curve ball.
Ian keeps his thoughts to himself a bit more, but both his children are older and well established and settled. His son has already booked flights for himself and his wife to come out for his long birthday weekend in December and his daughter is also talking about coming to see us soon. Ian's view is that time spent with them and the grandchildren in Mallorca will be real quality time with them staying with us and our opportunity to show them the island.
In the middle of writing this posting I stopped to take our two dogs for a walk and was in a reflective mood on all the undoubtedly wonderful people, places and things we will leave behind and felt really very sentimental. On coming back I had a cup of tea and ate one of the fortune cookies left over from our Chinese takeaway on Saturday night. My fortune was ........"You are heading in the right direction".🌅
It's one of the biggest decisions in your life. It is scary. I remember the removal lorry arriving that morning to load up all our worldly goods and nearly told them to "go away" but the house was sold and all arrangements were made so off we went. Have never looked back since. We love our life here in Spain and wish you both good luck in your new venture.
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