Sad/Happy

I don't really know any other way of trying express the mixture of emotions I feel this evening, as we contemplate leaving here tomorrow morning to take the car back to Edinburgh. It's definitely sad/happy. Of course, I've been to Edinburgh three times during the summer, but Mr A has been here solidly since early July and the car's presence here throughout is symbolic of our "presence". So it will be a shock to the system tomorrow.

I just said to him that we should move the car up here at the beginning of June next year. Obviously this year, we had other things to do in June, and that will be the case again for me (well, not the same sort of thing, but other stuff, inevitably), but next year there is no reason why Mr A cannot be here to enjoy a repeat of the glorious heatwave we had in Easter Ross in June properly, rather than episodically. Because obviously it will be hot again in June 2024!

So I am immensely sad to be leaving, but immensely happy to be leaving with so many memories of special times, many of which are associated with the Shandwick Bay swimmers. But there are so many other positives I want to take away from the summer, especially creating a garden, reconnecting with yoga, getting on with work remotely and enjoying a slightly slower pace of life (although ironically we have been madly busy all week....so that doesn't really apply). There are things I haven't done: I haven't read much; I haven't been out on the bike at all; the garden on the north side still needs urgent attention along with its ponding issue which we continue to ignore; I need to commit myself to various home improvements which will be pricey; there are some lovely places within an hour's drive of here that we should go exploring. Etc. Etc. But I've made a mental decision not to focus on the things we didn't do or could have done, and simply to embrace the positive things.

In that context, doing lots of sea swimming, spending time on Shandwick Beach and a few other places, and getting to know the Sea Swimmers better have been the biggest joys of all. Adventures such as two consecutive nights chasing the moon are things I could not have imagined doing a few months ago. Yes, perhaps, being in the car park to see the moon rise. Even being on the beach. But not in the actual sea. In the actual dark. When it is actually not that warm. Even though I have always loved swimming, I never actually went swimming that often throughout most of my life. So it is only since February 22, when I made my debut with the Shandwick Bay Swimmers, that I have properly embraced my love of being in the water.

The other big thing is clearly the garden, and as I mentioned to Mr A when we enjoyed a sneaky early evening beer in the back garden yesterday evening, when we arrived up here for Easter, we had no sort of garden, nowhere to sit outside, and nothing to enjoy when we were sitting out, so what would have been the point of sitting out....? Our garden is still very much a work in progress, but we have made much more progress than I thought we would do, and it's been - so far - all our own work.

Anyway, that's our first summer in Tain over and done with. It's been memorable. It's been an incredibly positive experience. And I would not exchange it for the most exciting holidays to exotic places. Not for one moment.

Let's now transfer that positive mindset back to Edinburgh. From tomorrow, a work in progress.

Oh, and the blip? K doing a dive. A lucky capture. Some extras to show how brilliant the weather was for the last summer swim (even though 1 September is officially the first day of autumn).