All Change!

Henley on a Sunny Day
I've been very remiss on the blip front, partly through being so stretched time-wise and partly through being gripped by indecision and anxiety.... the combination of which has not been good.

Several weeks of driving to/from Henley twice a day left me exhausted and stretched to the limit at work. Tom also found it a bit much so last week we went to see some host families, finding a lovely one where he moved in this Monday. At the same time I looked at a house to rent and started working out how I could at least partly relocate to Henley. Financially it would be very tight, but I'm reluctant to completely rent my house out here in Oxford as I do have one child living here, and I would need to do lots of small repairs etc.

I changed my mind about my plans half a dozen times a day and then got myself in a real pickle with the host family who were confused as to whether Tom would stay with them long term or just a few weeks. I'd lost track of what I'd said to whom and which particular scenario was front of mind on what day.... still we sorted it out.

Then it seems the house we want to rent along with a young rower training for Rio next year, possibly the ugliest house in Henley,  is up for rent because the owners are moving to a new house. So we are stuck in a buyers chain without even buying. The availability keeps getting pushed back and we are left dangling.  For two weeks next month the host family can't have Tom so it looks like I'll be back to commuting....

And here I am in Oxford with one son living with his father, and the other with a host family whilst I fill my home with lodgers who, whilst being lovely, cannot fill the gaping hole I feel at suddenly having both my children leave home. I don't think I've felt this emotional since I was a teenager.

And then I see refugees arriving from Syria, teenage boys traveling alone from Afghanistan, Eritreans... and I think how lucky I am and I really should get all this into perspective.