Saturday 21st September
Saying goodbye to Molly never gets any easier but I know that she is itching to get back to university so that helps. We dropped her off at Ledbury station very early and she will be in Lincoln by lunchtime. Meantime we will trek up the motorway and back to our island. We have had the best of holidays and Herefordshire has been very good to us.
Our final day was spent back in the city doing the necessary bits and pieces that you have to do when you live on an island with very few shops. This did include a lovely revisit to the sewing shop to purchase yet more ribbon for this years Christmas collection and some beads for my new embroidery. I have grown very fond of Hereford as it is not a big city and everything is in manageable chunks.
Herefordshire is the least populated English county and that is very evident as you travel around. It is also very appealing. Less people suits me well and if I ever left the island to live on the mainland again this area would be an option. Ross on Wye is my town and I felt very comfortable there. The Forest of Dean supplies the escape that we all need from time to time. There is an 11 mile cycle ride through the forest villages that I would like to try on my next village. With such close friends living in the area we know we shall be back quite regularly. The 16th century pub on the river the Symond Yat was an excellent watering hole and I could lose hours in there.
I like that Malvern, Worcester, Gloucester and Monmouth are all within easy striking distance and I also like that house prices are not out of control. We could, of course, live on a canal boat in the area.....
Spending the week with the family was a joy and a time to be treasured. We are fortunate to be able to holiday outside school holiday times so the time away is always very gentle and everything happens in its own time. Being without wifi was probably a good thing as it meant I worked less than I would have and feel more refreshed as a result. The plan is to get to the end of this year before taking stock on plans for 2014. The place of writing in my life has grown more and more as the year has progressed but it can't just be added on to an already busy schedule. It needs to occupy its own space now so any planning needs to take account of that.
Holidays are a good time to reflect and I have been able to see things more clearly. In a matter of a few years home school will be more or less completed and that will release a huge amount to time. George is taking his exit qualifications over the next few months before following Harry into vocational qualifications. That only leaves Max in full time home education. Although I love living in the moment I just have a sense of a future plan brewing and perhaps a final shedding of my skin. I have also come to understand my illness more and can see where my frustration lies. If I am too sedentary my body seizes up and if I exercise to prevent that happening it is very painful. I can, therefore, understand why so many sufferers end up in a wheel chair. The seizing up isn't painful. I have never taken an easy route in my life so I have no intention to doing so now. Living my life in a wheelchair would not only be a burden on everyone else but would also be very dull. I don't do dull either so the plan is clear.
I think holidays are useful things to do and this one has been particularly useful. Scottish island mum has only a few short months to run and then I will have achieved what I set out to achieve - a blog post every day for a year. As Harry said to me recently, 'that was quite a challenge you set for yourself.' Indeed it was.
Until tomorrow. Xx
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