Last month my mum moved home, not particularly extraordinary in itself but for the fact that she has spent her entire life, all 75 years living in London. For as long as I can remember she had held a dream about living near water, something about being a Pisces she said.
In her sixties she found herself taking on more responsibility for my Grandmothers care and the sound of seagulls seemed to get further away with every medical crisis my gran experienced. So when my mum and step dad put their house on the market last year after my grandmothers passing it proved to be an intense period of uncertainty and truth be told, anxiety for all involved.
For context my parents lived in the same house for 30 years, no central heating, the same boiler throughout, no washing machine or shower and shelves somehow held up by glue, neither are naturals with a drill or any kind of technology but they were happy in their little dolls house surrounded by plants & little jems of joy they found on their meanderings & travels. In truth they simply didn’t notice the changing world beyond the seasonal blossom outside their window.
Fast forward to their new flat & cue an extraordinary level of anxiety once again, not helped by the fact that they exchanged & completed within a week, enough to test anyones nerves and resolve. Something has however, begun to shift in the most interesting way over the last three weeks. Both my parents have been thrown into the present, with a little support they have discovered that some aspects of modern life (oven, airfryer, central heating & a hose!) can actually make life easier. That being able to order compost online is a necessity when you have a garden bigger than you remembered and no car.
For a long time my parents fear of change and fear of understanding newer ways of doing things had unwittingly denied them an opportunity to access skills they didn’t know they had. The past can be a wonderful place to remember but if you stay there it risks limiting your choices in the present. Whilst there have been moments of frustration with companies that fail to see the value of still employing actual humans for the most part their move has brought unexpected sea breezes, a local badger & a regular feline visitor but most of all it’s brought the chance of a new adventure, new perspectives, new neighbours and an opportunity to take a deep sea air breath in and reflect.
They have demonstrated beautifully & bravely that dreams do not have an age limit or indeed an expiration date and that having a washing machine can actually be quite handy.
May we all keep dreaming. learning and taking a deep breath as we leap.
With love,
Suzy
http://www.seraphinapilates.com
