I'm sorry to bore you with my summer but I was home for six weeks and it was full-on busy. One of the best types of trips, although the problem being that I can't actually remember everything I did!! I'll blame my meds for that as they have curdled my brain somewhat.
The best thing about going home for so long is that I get to see as many of my family and friends as I can possibly fit in. This year I spent 2/3 of my time seeing my Beautiful Bex; not all together but over the span of time most days were spent with her. Yay! That in itself is a perfect holiday. Just spending time with her, Dan and Ash. Although I'm pretty sure Ash is always more pleased to see me than Bex. Feel free to disagree here, Bex...
I met up with Bex at Paddington station on the day I flew in and Ash did the happy shimmy. Generally it's a happy dance but because he was working and had his jacket on, he knew that dancing was out of the question but that dog can shimmy with the best of them. He is a star at giving you the best welcome in the world, whereas Bex is more self contained in her shimmying.
Trying to fit in family, friends and time for ourselves is always a bit of a mission. Thankfully my DickyB is the king of spreadsheets. This spreadsheet is started about 5 months before our actual trip; yes, I know that sounds crazy but we need to see when everyone is free and work around anything that might be happening that we are invited to. Then there's booking flights, trains, hire cars, hotels. It really is a complex thing and takes many discussions over many bottles of wine to get right! The spreadsheet is updated on many occasions and I'm given my own copy, which apparently I'm meant to read and follow; which I do, kind of, maybe, most of the time. In fairness without it I would have no idea were I'm meant to be, when and who with.
So plenty of time spent with my beautiful daughter, which always soothes my soul. Sadly no Ben, he says he's too busy being a Rockstar! Cheek. But also plenty of time with my mum and lovely uncle and aunt. As I'm sure I've said before these amazing beings have wrapped me in their love since my dad died, helping me look after my mum, and every summer we all go and stay; taking over their home and being looked after like it's a five star hotel. The nicest thing is just being together as a family, spending time together, catching up where you left off and mum loves being with us all. I'm very aware of the fact that mum is getting older and any family time is to be cherished, as it should be regardless of age. This year myself, DickyB and Bex were all there. Being spoilt by my uncle and aunt but in return spoiling mum. It's always a win-win situation.
But we can't forget DickyB's family, whom we saw on a few occasions; not all of them together but enough to catch up on everyone's lives, even those who couldn't make it. A long, lazy lunch in Oxford saw the largest group together. So much catching up to do and a gorgeous new addition to Rick's ever growing family. When there's a large group together it's sometimes easier just to sit back and listen, to absorb the moments.
Some of my funniest times though were with members of the Six Litre Club. Not only did we have our long weekend in London, but we managed to meet up with Mr & Mrs W for another long weekend in Manchester. This involved too much food, a trip to the Coronation Street studios, the Science museum and Mr W totally misbehaving with DickyB. Full on laughter leading to tears on more than one occasion. Having said that a dinner in Pizza Express comes to mind when Bex and I were both laughing until we cried. Isn't that the best thing ever. As well as Mr & Mrs E joining us for bubbles and dinner at Hotel 41, an evening that passed way to quickly and I didn't want to end.
But the whole point of this trip was to spend time with the people I love, both family and friends. I love sitting around and talking, having a leisurely breakfast and a lazy lunch. Finding new places to visit and explore. These days all get safely tucked away in my memories until I see them all again. Every time I plan, or Rick plans, these trips home my heart feels lighter. Home really is where the heart is. And I'm already planning two more trips home this year. It's not that I'm wishing my life away but I really do love being home with family and friends. So I guess it's time to get out a new spreadsheet, to start planning our next adventure. To warn Bex that I'll be home again and she needs to practice a full-on happy dance; tap shoes, top hat and a full orchestra would be nice... Just a thought, Bex.
The best thing about going home for so long is that I get to see as many of my family and friends as I can possibly fit in. This year I spent 2/3 of my time seeing my Beautiful Bex; not all together but over the span of time most days were spent with her. Yay! That in itself is a perfect holiday. Just spending time with her, Dan and Ash. Although I'm pretty sure Ash is always more pleased to see me than Bex. Feel free to disagree here, Bex...
I met up with Bex at Paddington station on the day I flew in and Ash did the happy shimmy. Generally it's a happy dance but because he was working and had his jacket on, he knew that dancing was out of the question but that dog can shimmy with the best of them. He is a star at giving you the best welcome in the world, whereas Bex is more self contained in her shimmying.
Trying to fit in family, friends and time for ourselves is always a bit of a mission. Thankfully my DickyB is the king of spreadsheets. This spreadsheet is started about 5 months before our actual trip; yes, I know that sounds crazy but we need to see when everyone is free and work around anything that might be happening that we are invited to. Then there's booking flights, trains, hire cars, hotels. It really is a complex thing and takes many discussions over many bottles of wine to get right! The spreadsheet is updated on many occasions and I'm given my own copy, which apparently I'm meant to read and follow; which I do, kind of, maybe, most of the time. In fairness without it I would have no idea were I'm meant to be, when and who with.
So plenty of time spent with my beautiful daughter, which always soothes my soul. Sadly no Ben, he says he's too busy being a Rockstar! Cheek. But also plenty of time with my mum and lovely uncle and aunt. As I'm sure I've said before these amazing beings have wrapped me in their love since my dad died, helping me look after my mum, and every summer we all go and stay; taking over their home and being looked after like it's a five star hotel. The nicest thing is just being together as a family, spending time together, catching up where you left off and mum loves being with us all. I'm very aware of the fact that mum is getting older and any family time is to be cherished, as it should be regardless of age. This year myself, DickyB and Bex were all there. Being spoilt by my uncle and aunt but in return spoiling mum. It's always a win-win situation.
But we can't forget DickyB's family, whom we saw on a few occasions; not all of them together but enough to catch up on everyone's lives, even those who couldn't make it. A long, lazy lunch in Oxford saw the largest group together. So much catching up to do and a gorgeous new addition to Rick's ever growing family. When there's a large group together it's sometimes easier just to sit back and listen, to absorb the moments.
Some of my funniest times though were with members of the Six Litre Club. Not only did we have our long weekend in London, but we managed to meet up with Mr & Mrs W for another long weekend in Manchester. This involved too much food, a trip to the Coronation Street studios, the Science museum and Mr W totally misbehaving with DickyB. Full on laughter leading to tears on more than one occasion. Having said that a dinner in Pizza Express comes to mind when Bex and I were both laughing until we cried. Isn't that the best thing ever. As well as Mr & Mrs E joining us for bubbles and dinner at Hotel 41, an evening that passed way to quickly and I didn't want to end.
But the whole point of this trip was to spend time with the people I love, both family and friends. I love sitting around and talking, having a leisurely breakfast and a lazy lunch. Finding new places to visit and explore. These days all get safely tucked away in my memories until I see them all again. Every time I plan, or Rick plans, these trips home my heart feels lighter. Home really is where the heart is. And I'm already planning two more trips home this year. It's not that I'm wishing my life away but I really do love being home with family and friends. So I guess it's time to get out a new spreadsheet, to start planning our next adventure. To warn Bex that I'll be home again and she needs to practice a full-on happy dance; tap shoes, top hat and a full orchestra would be nice... Just a thought, Bex.