Goodbye!

I am completely and utterly exhausted, every cell in my body feels done in and my mind is heavy with emotion. We left Sussex last night after A and P's school play. There was a tsunami of tears, great torrents of kindness and even a song to wish us well in our Mallorcan life.

It was unbelievably overwhelming.

And as I sit here waiting to get on the flight to Palma, having re packed our bags and bought another one to accommodate our gifts...it is time to say Goodbye to Sussex Mama.

Thank you so much for reading and being a tiny bit interested in what I get up to. I hope you meet me on the other side to watch the Mediterranean journey unfold.

Mallorca Mama is up and running and will be added to as life unfurls and grows - in hopefully the most interesting way.

Last ride

We are experiencing a lot of 'lasts' as you can imagine. Saying goodbye to people and places, remembering the good times together and making plans for the future.

I think it was best I didn't tell the children that this was the last ride on their ponies. We will see them one more time for a cuddle and some carrots, but by then all our stuff will be on its way to Mallorca.

We will find other ponies on the island and Dexter and Louis will find new riders to teach. But it will be such a wrench, they have taught the girls so much and given me so much to smile about. Thank you, you cheeky ponies for enabling the kids to become confident little jockeys - and thank you for their last ride - you were both magnificent.

6 days to go

Louis putting up with A practising her aewo-dynamics!

We're going anyway

I don't know what this will mean for us. I don't know, and I don't think anyone know's how 'Brexit' will affect us all in the future.

I was scared on the morning of the result, scared for the country, the economy, the divide which has been caused, the racism which is back. I was completely shocked at the hate from both sides. I was also scared our Mallorcan dream could no longer be.

The day after the referendum no one could tell what the future would even vaguley look like. Would the 3 million EU immigrants to be sent home? Would the 2 million emigrants be sent back?

We are going anyway. Some say it will take 2 years to start the exit and up to 10 years to completely divorce from the EU.

By then we might have had enough, it might be time to try something new.

1 week and 4 days.

Wise children

We snuggled up together in the super-king size bed - me, little P and the two fattie catties. The house feels extraordinarily empty.

I flicked through my news feed at 7 o'clock this morning, barely awake and taking in the happenings of the night. P, interested in all things screen, watched and asked questions as I scrolled.

"Why are they singing? Why are there rainbow tears coming from that lady's eye? Where's Orlando?"

I explained the horrors, I hope in child-friendly terms, of the shooting in a gay nightclub. She sat up, looking pretty scared.

"So, the men were at a disco dancing and somebody shot them? Why?"

And before I could answer, she shouted:

"THEY SHOULD BAN GUNS!"

"Is there tourism in Paris?" she asked in earnest.

We talked about the romantic city, and the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa and the River Seine.

"With guns?" She insisted.

"Ohhhh, terrorism, not tourism!"

So we had a little chat about the awful shootings in Paris recently and how we mustn't hate people different to us who maybe have different views. I explained that if someone was mean to her in school, she must try very hard not to be mean back. Just love and kindness. Love and kindness.

"There should be no wars then!" she exclaimed and up she got to clean her teeth before another day.

That went fast

Last time I posted it was still May.

Now we are half way through June. 3 weeks and 6 days until we leave, less than a month until we will be sitting in a very bare house waiting for our furniture to arrive. It will be 30 degrees outside but there will be a swimming pool to cool us down. The cats will not have yet arrived, waiting for their flights at Gatwick and keeping it all together I hope. They will have calmers and pheromones to help them through the experience.

I think I need some calmers and pheromones too.

My body is running on a permanent low-grade level of adrenaline, the lists have got smaller but new items are added daily. We are starting the 'lasts' and goodbyes. We said cheerio to our dear goldfish on Saturday and the girls did their last pony show on Sunday.

This is all so very real now. 3 weeks, 6 days and counting.