Another New Year and the start of a new 2019 blog.
I wasn’t absolutely sure that I was going to bother doing this again but two things convinced me to carry on.
– The first was the lovely feedback and encouragement I have received. I may not have a wide readership but I certainly do have an appreciative one.
– The second was that I had the entire 2018 Blog made into a book for Karen for Christmas. All 112000 words and pictures of it. It took a lot of time and effort to do so (I corrected spellings but not grammar before getting it printed). It wasn’t cheap but the result is a great record of what we did and when. It may even offer some small insight into me as well as recording some social history of what we did and when.
So here we go again. This year we have lots of exciting adventures and trips booked. Indeed we are already planning in detail for 2020 and outlining what we like to do in 2021!
Life is all too short and we want to enjoy it whilst we are fit and healthy enough to do so. Financially we are just about holding our own and able to fund these trips. We do keep telling the boys we are just spending their inheritance and they don’t seem to mind too much.
In the run in to this new blog we have had some sad events intertwined with the festive delights. During November we sadly lost my sister Jill. It has now taken me a while to write this next sentence as I really don’t know what to say. The truth is that like my Mum we really lost her some years ago to the nasty forms of Dementia. She will be sadly missed but remembered with love.
A friend also lost his Father during December also and although I didn’t know him personally I felt I did through my friend and felt his sadness also. Then literally as the New Year turned over I leant of the sudden passing of a former work colleague. Someone whom I had bumped into in the City a few days before Christmas and had had long chat with. I believe I will probably miss the Funeral whilst I am away.
All of this makes me want to gather my family and friends closer to me and be with them, but also make me want to grasp the opportunity for explore and do new things and things that I/we enjoy.
Christmas was a joyous occasion. As ever we were unbelievably busy in the whole month of December and the period thereafter. I think we had some event/celebration most days and sometimes more than one on the same day. We ended up having to prioritise and did miss out some events that we would have dearly liked to also have done. Karen as ever was most stressed with the cleaning and preparation. The problem was that she wanted to do everything and have everything perfect whilst also agreeing to take whatever Supply Teaching work was on offer. The trouble is she still enjoys teaching when she can but it does adds more pressure to her already busy life.
It was lovely to be able to spend so much quality time with our boys over Christmas. We have never seen either of them as relaxed or happy as they have been this Christmas. Our family dynamic has changed with Ellie joining us, for the better and long may it continue. Barry is a new person since they met and it is heartening to see her interacting with Neil. We hope they all enjoyed it as much as we did. It would just be nice for Neil to find someone to share his life with in the way that Barry has. We were also very touched by the thought, thought,effort and kindness that went into their gift purchases for us.
I am writing this introductory blog entry on the plane as we approach Buenos Airies and now have to stop to fill in some customs forms. More about the trials and tribulations of the first day of travel to follow in the first proper blog entry.
I do hope you enjoy what is to follow and Happy New Year!
