A taste of things to come

Less than a month to go now until our antipodean adventure begins... I keep trying to think of the life that lies ahead.

Goodbye rural idyll, hello city living. I feel like we are doing this turn about face. Dont you do the city living in your sapling years and the rural kind in your maturing ones? Well never one for convention, this is how it's going to be.

The shipping company arrive next week to pack up our belongings and pop them in seafaring container. Just one insignificant little box among hundreds on a vessel like this. Could take 3 months to reach us. The most travelled leather sofas in the world!

There is much to do to get us there still and there is of course the ongoing matter of finding a home!

We could be there though, but I am not divulging too much, after 2 failed attempts there will be no joyous domicile declarations until the ink has dried..................

however....................

if all goes to plan, this could be the view we have from the balcony.

Its only an ikkle picture because I only want to whisper it under my breath..............just in case

You just have to go with the flow!

Today we have been sifting through shelves of well thumbed books, photo albums, maps and treasures from times past, collected menus, travel tickets, little souvenirs etc....

Shall we take that, store this, charity shop that or bin the other?

Its quite a tough call letting go of some things that evoke some wonderful memories of great times shared but with our move just weeks away now it is a necessary task.

Whenever we have had a special holiday I have always tried to keep a journal, yes you always remember the over all experience but you do forget the detail and today I picked up a journal I had written back in 2005.

I opened a page and read an extract, it instantly transported me back there. There was one especially  poignant detail, that I now remember being a little bitter sweet at the time. If I could have gone back and told my 35 year old me, it will work out just fine I would have done.

I would like to share this excerpt with you.

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11th - 23rd November 2005 - Coco Palm, Maldives

 ".........we woke up this morning to grey skies and rain clouds but it was still very hot. We really hoped the rain would pass, firstly because we had booked a private BBQ on the terrace of our villa over looking the Indian ocean, just the two of us, well almost, a Chef and Waiter too! Secondly we hoped the rain would pass because a Japanese couple were to be married today and we wanted the sun to come out and bless their union.

It did. We watched the bride embark the Maldovian Dhoni boat to sail off to married life where the ceremony was to be held on the nearby Embudhoo Atoll. Her dress was a rich creamy silk and she had orchids in her hair. The only odd thing about her attire were the Abba style white, patent platform boots she wore beneath her dress!

As we returned to the villa our Chef, Indiga and out Waiter, Jackson were politely waiting for us by the door. We cleaned our sandy feet in the water urn and padded barefoot into the villa.

Walking out onto the terrace, a truly lovely sight unfolded before our eyes. A table delicately dressed with candles, orchids and foliage from the tulip tree, leaves entwined in a twirling pattern around the circumference of white cloth.

Then we noticed the BBQ tucked away on some decking just below the splash pool. It was throwing eager, dancing orange flames and our Chef, Indiga, stood proud in his pristine starched whites with a smile as bright and clearly relishing his moment on stage. Jackson, our Waiter was equally as smiley, asking us the same questions that every staff member does here.

"Where you from?"

"First time Maldives?"

"How long you stay?"

"You like?"

Conversing with mirth in truncated pigeon English, we all got along fine, Jackson cracked open a bottle of ice cold Chablis, we clinked, lent back into our chairs and gazed dreamily out to the watery horizon and bid the sun goodnight.

Jolted from my reverie, Jackson handed me our evenings menu, the words jumped off the page.

"In Villa BBQ for Mr & Mrs Tamble"

I smiled inwardly at their charming typo of our name and at the same time felt a little sting of tears too. Why? Because I was no longer a Mrs, not a Mrs T-J and not even a Mrs Tamble.

"Name right?" Jackson enquired

"Just perfect" I smiled.......................................

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I did wonder at the time if that holiday would produce the question ensuring a future reinstatement of Mrs T-J. But it didn't.

I had to wait another 2 years for that and it was worth every second for that holiday in Botswana 2007 not only saw a popping of the question but a surprise wedding too!

So where is the moral in the story?

I think looking back at my journal the lesson that constantly reinforces itself in my life is this:

Let life flow just as it should. If you try to force things, you push your life down tributaries it isn't meant to go down and you lose the flow and direction of the mighty river of life.

Be patient and go with the flow and things just work out fine in the end.

With love and light. Mrs Tamble xxx

What is your secret?

"Well what is your secret?" she inquired

"I really would never have known that about you, you just dont exude that stuff"

Well its no big secret at all, truly. For me it is a choice, a conscious one and actually very, very simple to practice, that is once you have decided you want to.

However hurt you're feeling, no matter how much you have been hurt, - hide the secret scar because time really does bring it's healing. Just see things for what they are.

I try to be forgiving, - loving more, not less. Life after all is for living and for packing in happiness.

Thats it, my secret, simple really, although I do have to remind myself of my own mantra because life is testing.

A word of caution, just because some people make it look easy, doesnt mean it is! No-one has it easy.