No Regrets

 Okaaay a bit of pondering today.  This is my life aim: to take my final breath (hopefully not for a long time yet!)  knowing I have lived life absolutely to the full and can reflect with joy and satisfaction that I did my best to, well, have fun and be there for those I love.  

So at this stage in life, every day I swim (which, let's be honest is most days)  is a good day. And that aim to live life to the full is what led us to move to the seaside in December.  That has been a roller coaster ride but once we had decided, it was like all the pieces fell into place. Deciding took a long time, because there were many benefits to where we lived before and we loved our previous house. 

I didn't think we could afford the seaside town where we now live.  Wrote a list of all the things we wanted and really it was the only place that ticked all the boxes.  So we thought, let's aim for 4 or 5 out of the 6 things on that list and live somewhere else.

The thing is, I was driving here several times a week to swim.  I looked at the houses to the right of the road to the beach and thought 'one of those.'  I just kept picturing it every time I went past, couldn't help myself.  

And guess what? The prices in our village caught up by just enough to allow us to dream.  We decided to sell and because our house was so well loved and cared for it sold fast.  We eventually ended up in a house to the left of that road instead of the right!  Even better, because it has views to the sea.

By chance, I had spotted what is now our home advertised at a fixed price whilst browsing online in the dentist's waiting room.  

There were no fixed price properties at this time and many offers on each property. But the previous sale had fallen through at the last minute and the people had separated. We could never have afforded it if we had to compete for it.

Well we practically camped outside the estate agent's shop that night, saw the house the next day and made an offer on the spot. Phew! 

I spent the next few weeks doing drive bys every time I went to the beach and just sitting outside sending love to my house.  And nothing went wrong!  We only finally knew it was ours at 4.30pm on the day we moved in.  

We had sat in the local supermarket cafe for hours waiting with our fingers crossed and our lovely daughter holding our hands and providing support!  Then suddenly it was all done and we were moving in.  And the whole thing, from deciding to move to getting into bed our first night in the new place took less than six weeks.

So now the task is to live that life.  I mostly work from home, commute to work on the train once a week and cycle back from the station via the beach.  Always I pause there and just say thanks.  I have not yet managed that cycle without tears in my eyes and we now have lived here for five months.  

The roller coaster has continued.  Major work on the roof, painting the ouside of the house (ongoing), decorating, getting Covid and then Lee getting another illness.  Me getting flu and hurting my ankle, me starting that new job and figuring out how to commute there by train,  packing up all over again to get carpets and lino fitted, the car blowing up just before I travelled to the island of Lewis for work...it has been intense.  

And still there is time to go to the beach with our wee dog Suzy and to swim, look at the wild life, meet new people and just be very, very thankful.   

Today's swim was back to Lunderston bay, who knew, twice in a week after only ever having been there once before!

It meant I could meet up with people I had not seen for ages.  And it was wonderful.  I love to wear goggles and watch what is happening under the water.  The sun was out. It was 12c in the water and the front crawl went well, feeling like I was flowing along effortlessly. For a wee while anyway! 

Back home, we cracked open the patio furniture and I actually sat outside and crocheted, feeling like the anxiety that has ebbed and flowed ever since deciding to move was finally letting go.  Well no wonder I was anxious, every time we relaxed a bit something else happened!  An ordinary reaction to an extraordinary situation.

So today at least I have no regrets.  I lived and loved life to the full

and I swam my best.  Tomorrow is another day.