Tonight, I feel I have very little to offer – it’s past midnight and I’m tired (I’ve added this post late for the 9th). Today I’ve spent most of the day trying to get on top of a backlog of our washing, attended a Zoom webinar about internet safety, tried to take care of myself, and tried to keep up with what’s happening in Palestine. Mostly, that is weighing on me a lot, and I’m always trying to find ways to use my voice.
I’m also just thinking a lot about the move – which is definitely going ahead now as of yesterday – and the amount of decluttering and packing we need to do. It’s a downsizing partly because of my parents’ need for mobility and ease, but also because we’ll be living in the same town as my sister and her family, with just around 15 minutes walk between us.
So it will make life a lot better in that respect, and what we lose in space we’ll gain in quality of life. The current house we’ve lived in for 33 years has a lot of steps (including in the garden), is a period property, and is becoming too unmanageable for all of us. It has held us and been home for many years though, through good times and bad. The garden we’re moving to is bigger than we were expecting, and offers some possibilities like a studio/working space, beautiful planting, and a greenhouse!
Before that, though, me and Dan are going to Scotland to visit his family, thus trying to get the washing done and ready for a week away. It’s the first time I’ve been up since before the pandemic started, so I’m a little nervous, but it’s not my first time travelling (complete with masks etc). I’ve seen his Dad once – last year – since Dan’s Mum passed away. The soaring costs of train travel and the busyness of life in general have made it a bit harder.
I’m looking forward to it, despite feeling the stress of needing to pack and get things sorted before we go. Packing is my most hated task – potentially it’s just because I’m the kind of person who needs to make sure I have all the little things that I need (recently I’ve realised it’s probably my autistic brain needing reassurance and safety). And the anxiety of making sure I’ve not forgotten anything.
It’s not that I’m high maintenance – it’s more that I just feel safer and more at home when travelling if I’ve planned for most contingencies and have stuff that makes me comfortable with me! Luckily I have a lot of packing lists so can just adapt one of the ones I have each time I travel according to season or location. I’ve become a lot better at choosing clothes these days – I work out a colour scheme or go with easy layering rather than taking too many choices.
I’ve written more than I was expecting to write but I think I need to call it a night for now – bed and my Kindle are calling!
Cats and Chocolate 