Saturday 24 December 2022
It’s Christmas Eve and outside is grey, post-a-lot-of-rain wet and around nine degrees. There’s a different kind of packing currently in front of me, Christmas presents and stuff to take for Christmas Day at my mum’s. The flat is a bit sad as I didn’t put up any decorations, other than hanging up a felt Christmas tree and a felt snowman. We have received one card in the post (which arrived in early December because my friend in Australia was very organised) and those that were exchanged in-person, so there aren’t even as many cards around as usual because of the postal strikes. I feel unsettled. I have, however, had a lovely, if exhausting, week.
This London trip has been the complete opposite to life in Scotland, which is how we wanted it to be, though I do feel I’ve done in this week what I would normally have spread out over a good six months. I have been out every day and/or evening since less than an hour after arriving back in London last Saturday after the long drive from Scotland. I have seen nine friends, had five meals out, looked at fancy Christmas decorations in central London and ‘popped out’ to the shops countless times. I have talked and thought a lot about what feels like our two lives and I am still very much appreciating both.
Returning to London, we have both been appreciating far fewer chores. The flat is so warm we don’t need heating (overall, this is not as good a thing as it sounds, but for now it is a good thing), the hot water timer is on and is very straightforward (there are inconveniences with the hot water in Scotland, but it does work; we just have to plan hot water usage in ways we don’t have to in London), clothes we have washed are dry in two days and there is no need for cardboard by the outside doors for muddy feet.
When I was writing pre-move blog posts (as yet unpublished), the things I was most concerned about included scary night-time noises in the countryside, feeling isolated, running out of food, discomfort at not having curtains. And so the list went on. Five weeks later, our biggest concerns have been around the multi-fuel stove and heating (fortunately now resolved by the electric boiler being connected), mud/coal/dirt, how late and if ever things will be delivered (in addition to Royal Mail strike issues) and plumbing issues (two call-outs and one boiler-sorting day). None of the issues I expected to find really stressful have been issues at all, though I really would like to have curtains and blinds up.
My mum’s family were advocates for “never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you”. I don’t think any of them do or did put that mantra into practice. However, my concerns prior to moving exemplify that worrying about things that haven’t happened is futile. I will still never learn and adopt that entirely sensible family mantra though.
In the meantime, now that Christmas wrapping and packing seems to be done, I have no more shopping to do and my only social engagements are with my mum over Christmas and Boxing days and Chris’s sons on Boxing Day evening at our flat, I think I’m ready to enjoy and appreciate Christmas more.