Home Thoughts
Whenever we gather things to take with us on an adventure and tie up loose ends here and there, there’s always a moment when I stop and wonder “is it worth it?”. On more than one of these occasions I’ve suggested that, instead of going off to the airport, we lock the door and stay at home, only pretending that we’re not here to the outside world. Imagine! A whole three weeks or more with nothing to bother us, no appointments, no responsibilities and being able to simply please ourselves.
Be careful what you wish for, eh?
Of course, as soon as we get to wherever we were headed, however circuitous the route, it’s all worthwhile. And yes, today, we had planned to be boarding our favourite ship in Abu Dhabi, having spent a few days exploring the city. We had learned about The Louvre, had looked forward to a few days of sunshine and to celebrating our Ruby wedding anniversary as we sailed through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal towards the Mediterranean.
We know what happened to that plan.
It’s hard, though. This is the time of the year that we look forward to; when we go travelling, discovering new places and returning to our favourite parts of the world. Just as I try to put all of that to the back of my mind, I open my diary and see the remains of those plans with “cancelled” scribbled over them, or a Facebook post pops up with “memories from x years ago” - in today’s case, cherry blossom in Tokyo. This morning on the radio I heard a reference to May 4th and immediately remembered that date (those dates?!) last year, when we were crossing the international date line.
But all is not lost. We are both well. We have no immediate worries and life is comfortable. I went out into the garden and noticed the apple blossom on the trees, looking lovely under a clear blue sky.
I’m sure that, throughout the next few weeks my mind will return to “we had a table booked for dinner this evening” and “today was when we were going to go to xxx” but I have a choice of ways to deal with thoughts like that. I could feel regretful and make myself miserable about what I’m missing - definitely not a choice open to me! I’d rather look at pictures and read my blog from other visits to that part of the world and revisit those happy times, looking forward to when we can return and see the places we’d planned for this time. Or, best of all, I could walk in the garden, look out of the window or simply notice what’s around me. Appreciate what we have.
Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!
And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
- Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!
