Leaving Dubai is going to be as scary and exciting also. Another big change in my life but one I'm more than ready for. After all these years my heart has returned to the UK. It's where my home is, where most of my family live. Again, I have people telling me I'm brave, or stupid to want to move home. 'You will hate the weather'... ' there's no customer service'... ' everyone is miserable'... 'it's always cold'... 'it's expensive'...'you will miss your maid'... And the list goes on.
To a certain extent they are right. I really will miss the sunshine. I love waking up and seeing the blue sky. That's always been one of my favourite things about living here. I'm a typical Leo and love the sunshine. But it's ok, we've already said that we shall jump on a plane and follow the sun for midweek breaks when we return home. Plus, I'm actually looking forward to Seasons again. We only have two here, hot or bl**dy hot! I love heading to the UK in the winter. It's a whole different wardrobe. My poor hubby is going to have to get used to the fact that I will want a coat and boots for whichever Sarah wants to come out and play. Wooly jumpers and bobble hats. Roaring fires and hot chocolate. Cold is good as long as I have a warm home. And I'm realistic enough to know that the short, dark, wet days of winter can be depressing after a while.
Customer service out here is very good but erratic. They never turn up when they say they will and then phone you up and shout at you if you're not in when they deem to turn up, either a few hours early or up to four hours late; sometimes not at all. They certainly never listen to me and often talk over me so I have to phone my hubby up, at work, for him to speak to them. In the shops, the assistants follow you so closely that I've been known to leave the shop and give up. I've also been ignored by members of staff because I'm a blonde western woman. So, as in the UK, there are problems here too.
Are you all totally miserable in the UK? Seriously, there is a fair share of misery guts out here too!! I go home often enough for me to say that I think most people that I come across at home are fairly happy and normal people. No, they aren't singing and dancing as they go around their day to day lives, but they are smiling and happy. You will find a Victor Meldrew wherever you live, that's life. I have a great group of friends at home who all appear to be happy!! I'm looking forward to being able to see more of these amazing people; I miss them. I have an incredible group of friends here and I shall miss them also, but I'm hoping that they will come and visit us in our home, that we can meet up during their trips home. And of course there's always Facebook, which is how I keep in touch with my friends at home now.
Of course, some things in the UK are expensive. The cost of petrol is terrifying!! It's outrageous to be honest. But your supermarkets are cheaper than here as are your clothes. In fact clothes are so expensive here compared to home that I shop whenever I go home, not just for the wider range of choice but for the fact it's so much cheaper. So, that's always a bonus to this girl who loves her wardrobe to be tweaked on a regular basis. Probably not the best thing for my Dicky B but ho hum.
I've been very blessed out here by being able to have a maid. When I was working she came in five days a week and now she comes in twice a week. It's lovely. I'm happy doing housework though. The only thing I really hate is ironing, so I've already decided that I'm going to get a steam presser, like they use in the shops. With Rick not working there won't be as many items that will need to be pressed, so I think it's a phobia I can overcome. Lol! And of course, Dicky B will be given chores too. He can certainly help keep the house clean. To be honest the two of us aren't that grubby.
But for me the reason I want to return home is for my family. I'm sure they won't remember, but Ben said to me about eighteen months ago, that it was time I moved home, that he and Bex needed me home. The thing is, I'd made that very same decision the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It highlighted the fact that I am an awful long way from Ben. That if I was at home I'd only be a short plane ride away from him rather than the fourteen hours I am now. So by moving home, I can see a lot more of my beautiful Bex but it also opens up the possibilities to seeing Ben. We all miss each other. As I've mentioned before, they're great at keeping in touch with me and we text all day but I've missed birthdays and celebrations, parties and family meals, I've missed just hanging out with them, watching telly and chatting, long and relaxed family meals. I'm not going home and expecting them to include me in their lives all the time but just knowing we are all close enough to see more of each other whenever we can is a huge weight off my mind and heart.
And for now I've needed to be here for my continued care. This year is my fifth year free of cancer and I know that five years is the big date. So by moving home this year, we can come back to Dubai until I get my five year thumbs up and then I can return home and open the champagne with both my kids. We are happy for me to head home this year! I've had the worst of the side effects, I've been so carefully monitored it's amazing and we now feel secure enough to return home.
It's time for me to go home. Dubai has had it's fair share of ups and downs, pain and happiness, but home is where your heart is and that's in England. We've been planning our return for over two years. You can't just pack your bags and go, it's not that easy. So I'm heading home for good; in 5 weeks time. We have found our forever home. We've been doing the sums and working on budgets; planning and tweaking. It's exciting. It's time.