In my weekly update – stretching our wings – it occurred to me this has been our first foray away from home since last September. So it has been welcomed but also very strange.
It has felt strange because we have paying my mother-in-law daily visits of late, owing to her refusal to have anyone else. Now there is someone else in the village who is acceptable, we wasted no time in heading down to Exeter last weekend.
Hannah came with us as it is her half term college week. We had a lovely time there and on Tuesday I caught the train to Weston-super-Mare and met with my mother. We drove home and Rachel & Hannah followed on the following day.
Thursday involved a Doctor’s appointment. I took along a urine sample which thankfully was deemed clear of white blood cells and therefore an infection was unlikely. The Doctor was a locum and he recognised my difficult position and the likelihood of continued infections. So he gave me two sample bottles with two forms and this meant I could ask for testing without having to wait for an appointment. I loved that pragmatic approach which made a welcome change from the resistance I have experienced there before (the receptionists say they can’t afford to handout sample bottles and we have to use jam jars instead!).
In spite of having clear urine on that day, I am alternating between having urine which is either crystal clear to being like parsnip soup. Yes really.
Saturday was Parkrun day and it turned out to be the first anniversary for the Dunstable event. There were roughly 120 runners and I was mid field. At the start of the 5k run, the wind was howling and the rain was horizontal, stinging my face. While it would be easy to grumble about that, or the wet, boggy conditions, I loved it and felt so ALIVE!
Thoughts are starting to lend themselves to a summer holiday with Hannah (I have already booked my flight to California in May). We fancy Egypt, or I do as it will be reminiscent as the first trip abroad for me many years ago. Hannah certainly likes the idea of this.
We might fly to Cairo, backpack our way around Egypt and then fly to Turkey and backpack our way home. Could be interesting and yet fraught with problems.
Another possibility is to drive to Bulgaria or even Turkey, leave the car there, fly to Egypt and return the same way (albeit a different route). Potentially also fraught with different difficulties.
I do feel a bit apprehensive but I know it’s the kind of thing I might regret if I don’t do it. I don’t want to be sitting in a rocking chair, in my 90s, and regret I didn’t do these things while I had the opportunity.