Those best laid schemes - again!!!!

Just over a month since we left the UK and nearly two weeks since my last post…. And a lot has happened.

Iain returned from the UK as things had “settled down” at home and the future was looking a little brighter for the time being.  We got on with things.  The weather has been fantastic, some good days, some not so good days and some very very good days.  For the last couple of days the temperature has risen to 23C which is better than most summer days in the UK.  And this is still January.

The biggest thing that I can’t get my head around is that this is IT. This is the HOKEY COKEY. We are not just on holiday and returning home to the normality of a house and jobs in a couple of weeks, this is now normality. I think we may have been spoiled by picking this campsite though – we are planning to stay here now until after Easter. But more of that another time.

However I won’t say that we are having a fantastic time emotionally because of what has been going on at home. Some of our friends who have been reading our blog already know that Iain’s daughter has been suffering with cancer for some time.  We had to make a decision back in early December whether or not we would actually leave the UK this winter but to stay in Hampshire to be “around”.  We made the decision to continue with our plans as Emma was being well cared for by Stuart and we would probably only add to her stress if she thought we were “hanging around” and changing our plans for her.  After all, it’s not that difficult to get home from Spain if you need to.We even waited until just a few days before leaving to book our ferry in case we were needed to stay. I have already posted that Iain returned to the UK after we had been here only a few days.  

When Iain came back from the UK nearly two weeks ago, the plan was that Emma would leave the hospice and return home and so things did appear to be looking up.  Now though, we have some very sad news. Emma’s condition changed quite rapidly and she passed away on Saturday morning, she was just 34.  We will of course both be returning to the UK for her funeral.

The reason that I am sharing this so publicly on my blog is because my blog is like a diary about changing your life and for us giving up work and living without all that STUFF and to share with those other people out there who are planning to live their dream, whatever their dream may be.  These are the sort of things that have to be considered when you choose to move away from your families and loved ones even if it is just for a few months in the winter.

Had we known a month ago that there was only such a short time left for Emma then no, we would not have left.   However no-one knows how much time anyone has and if we leave things until later or next year and then next year and then next year then you find that life has gone by and your time has run out.

It was actually Emma’s illness that was one of the factors into deciding that life IS for living, not for working and planning and dreaming and waiting and that we don’t need to accumulate chattels and “stuff” to be happy, what we want to do is to enjoy the time we have - for however long that may be - hopefully a long time.

Don’t dream it – JFDI   (just f*****g do it) - while you can.

I don't think I will be posting for a little while - not until I have something happier to share.