I’m sat in the dark in a lovely villa in Santa Barbara and the clock tells me the time is 3.30pm on Friday 28 October. The computer I’m typing on is still set in UK time and tells me the time is 11.30pm on a Friday night. Over in New Zealand, where we are destined to arrive on 30th October, it’s nearly lunch time on Saturday 29 October.
I’m awake with two children, Charlotte and Alice. All three children of our children fell asleep around 5pm yesterday, so I was expecting at least one to wake in the early hours. Hubbie came home from a day’s work at Citrix HQ to find the villa curtains drawn and a very quiet, sleepy atmosphere. He felt shattered too and headed to sleep – he’s sleeping now, with our six year old daughter, Sophie (who’d been awake for sixteen hours – from our arrival in Santa Barbara at midnight the day before).
I’m hoping sleep will come again soon. We’ve had a relaxing bath and all is quiet. Charlotte is tucked up in bed and Alice is watching ‘Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom’ in bed, whilst chomping on an apple.
My mind and body feel completely confused – but with a dose of blue sky and sunshine, around the pool in Santa Barbara, the muddled feeling is a gentle hazy one, rather than a frustrated, grumpy one. Traveling long distances, especially with children, is always tiring – and for that reason I had resisted doing it for a number of years – but it is worth it.
After a day that started with a latte from a cliff-top restaurant, overlooking dolphins surfing in the break waves below, how could I not be content?!
With memories of close family times so fresh in my mind – the feel of their hugs still wrapping me in an imagined embrace – I am very, very grateful indeed.
A new day will soon be dawning and in a chaotic world, with so much pain and suffering. I am overwhelmingly thankful to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends, and a life with so many wonderful options and possibilities.
Joining in with…
