I moved to the country about three years ago. I was working through post-natal anxiety and maybe mistakenly thought that the fresh air would rattle my brain back to whatever normal is. (Normal is relative and over-rated) We first moved in with my family. My father wanted to be like The Waltons. But The Waltons is TV. Old TV. (And I love my Dad, but I’ve learned that I also love reliable internet connections and family time that doesn’t involve…
Before I moved in with Neil, I lived in six apartments over five years. Several of my landlords used my rent to pay for ski trips instead of their mortgages. Because that’s a thing. Anyway, there was legal stuff that had nothing to do with me. Except I had to move a lot, and with each new place I unpacked less and less. When Neil and I met, I was down to my cat and my bookshelves. He bought me…
And so, I don’t have any excuses for not writing. Except maybe too much furniture blocking the computer. And a toddler. But those are really bad excuses. Because there’s also notebooks. And coffee. And pens. And OK, maybe the pens don’t work. But there’s crayons. Because there’s a toddler. Anyway. The last day of the year makes you think. Mostly about what you’ve done with the other 364 days. There’s been a lot of clapping. And crying. And laughing. And…
And so, I’m sitting in the office. My desk is somewhere between Isla’s crib and one of the bookcases. I kinda like that. Symbolism. Or something. We moved up here with more than 17 boxes of books. Yesterday was spent emptying them into the bookcases. In the old flat, I knew them so well, I almost didn’t see them. Favourites and doorstops, old schoolbooks I can’t part with. Those have been moved to the loft. What I’m looking at now…
And so, I’m sitting here in the kitchen. Today’s the first day out of the box for my computer, Truman Bubbles. If you look beyond the monitor, out the giant window, there’s trees. And thistle. On our first morning here, last Monday, we were serenaded by sheep. We’re not in Edinburgh any more. Isla’s been running up and down the hallway pushing her new walker thing. I’ve already removed the musical panel. The TV is obscured by other boxes. However,…
