This week I’ve said farewell to an iPhone, au revoir to a wall, goodbye to my hoardings and we are about to say Bon voyage to the Big E – our first born, to some Mediterranean resort for the foreseeable…Also, as I write this, I suspect that I’m on the verge of lamenting the loss of a few quid at Aintree.

All this got me thinking about how sad goodbyes can be – even if you don’t give two hoots about the subject or the leaver! Take moving for example, I was desperate to move. Years I’d been trying to sell my house. Two days before we signed the deal, I sobbed into the bubble wrap and packing tape. Distraught at the thought of leaving; but was I? In hindsight I think I was more distressed about the unknown. You see I’d gone through a spate of having nightmares about living in a cold house (the old one was oven-like). , it possessing a negative aura and it falling to pieces around me. In fact it was quite the opposite and I felt instantly happy. I’ve not bothered about my old house once (sorry). Plus, more to the point, I’ve not shed a single tear that I’m not still waking up in the house I brought all three of my babies into. It appears all those silly tears were for nothing!

Also, how many times have you said goodbye to people you love? Now, some souls are, arguably, the type you’d say farewell to and hope its good riddance. But, the good ones, people who you actually like (they don’t have to be perfect. In fact far from it), are like footprints. Some footprints (the imperfect sometimes dog shit smeared ones) leave a lasting imprint on our hearts and souls. In this respect I feel incredibly lucky to have some of the most wonderful friends and family, who, may not see each other as often as we would all like, but know I love them and would do anything for them. Living proof of this are the goodbyes which have never had a finality. Those people are the ones I love and cherish the most. Those people are the ones who I miss, don’t see for over a year and when I do it’s like we’d never been apart (you know who you are). This even applies to the goodbye I said ten years ago. That person stays with me forever. Although I will never see her again in this lifetime, she is never forgotten…xxx

Sorry for the cliche but ‘life is way too short’ for regrets and dull mundanity. We should never choose the easy option , or forget our sense of fun and adventure, and should almost certainly enjoy making the memories. So let’s turn my goodbyes around and smile enjoy the journey.

The fact is I’ve given everyone a good laugh with my phone in the loo story. Further to this they’re all loving my courtesy phone – a nostalgic nod to a phone I had back in the year 2000. It takes me an hour to send a text due to the number key pad and the hilarity of that I keep pressing the wrong button and manage to keep deleting my laborious text. Little E loves it though so she doesn’t want to kiss it goodbye.

The wall, on the other hand, keeps waking me in the night. You see, once it’s gone, there’s no going back. I would also argue that we are past the point of no return; an eight yard skip and a 2.4 steel lintel (both blocking the drive) have seen to that. The crazy thing is that as soon as I saw the house my first thought was ‘get that wall down!’. It’s exciting and I’m sure it’ll be fine!

The parting of the hoardings? Well that’s more them than me. However, I do have a little tear when I throw out stuff which holds memories. Maybe life won’t be the same if I chuck Lillie E’s white dress. The one which I bought from Primark for a tenner. Looks like a confirmation dress, made a lovely Greek lady slam her brakes on at a T-junction, get out of her little Fiat and fuss over how beautiful the ‘mikró korítsi’ was. All this happened whilst strolling through in a little Greek fishing village called Kolmybari on the island of Crete (gorgeous holiday). See, do I need the item for the memory? Dressed binned but I’ll never forget our precious times yogether.

Just like saying Bon voyage to the big one. No matter how big she gets, I can tell you all her firsts, describe all her birthdays until the age of sixteen, and recall hundreds of funny stories about her growing up. Although I know I’m not going to worry about her being successful (as she will be highly efficient and organised in her new job), she will be missed. She will be a natural at getting all those tourists whipped into shape. My goodness, the way she used to do do roll call at the age of five. She’d line her teddies up, call their names out, put them in order with such a bossy tone, I can’t imagine anyone would dare step out of line, refuse an excursion, or miss flights with her in charge – they’d be too scared…Her new bosses can sleep well in the fact that she was also trained in airport and plane etiquette by her two little sisters playing ‘Sass Airlines’ – the most stylish airline this side of the Atlantic. Where, for €50 you could buy earphones, a diet coke and a packet of crisps (I renamed it Rip Off airlines) However, it never had legs as they never had a plane so the passengers never went anywhere.

Like I said happy memories, no one can take them away.

So that leaves me with the race card for the big one. You’d think practically growing up at the race track and having a dad who’d put his bobbos before everything, I would be fully equipped for winning success. However, although I am a gifted studier of form guides, when it comes to the Grand National it’s anyone’s guess. It won’t stop us all picking one each, cheering very loudly and hoping that it won’t be the last I’ve seen of my twenty!!

All this shows that life is for living. Grabbing experiences and learning from them are what I tell my three to do all the time. The simply best things about goodbyes are that you made memories to get there.

NB:
Since writing this:
1. I now have a new shiny phone. This means my missing blog has been recovered, so watch out for a Easter special.
2. The wall came down and well, WOW!
3. Feel lighter from dehoarding. Going to book a holiday to make new memories (already bought Little E an outfit
4. Big one gone. She’s not rang once!!
5. First and fourth on the National – get in!
Sent from my iPad