A wee update

Life has been busy for me recently, hence my lack of posts. I'm never as inspired to write when I'm working either, but I thought it was about time for an update.

I don't know where this year is going; it seems like just yesterday that I was celebrating new year in Tuscany and now I'm starting to think about my next trip there at Easter. In April – the fourth month of the year. That's incredible. Since my last trip to Italy I've spent weekends in Northumberland, Krakow and Madrid. I've also had an Italian friend over one weekend, had Graeme to stay for two nights, visited my godson and his new baby sister, had a Saturday night out with friends from Monaco, taken a 10-week Italian language course and started having some life coaching. This weekend another Italian friend is visiting, and the weekend after my lovely sister is coming to visit for the first time in 15 months – yay! Recent travel has been restricted as my passport is away being renewed, but an enforced period in the UK has also been nice.

So, another chapter of my life is coming to a close; 30 March is the last day of my current contract. At this moment in time, apart from my trip to Italy at the start of April, I don't have any definite plans but the vague plan consists of a trip to India in April/May, a long weekend in Switzerland with Graeme at the start of June then hopefully some QT with my family before I head to Italy for the summer. I initially thought I'd like to go and spend six months in Italy, but the reality of that didn't appeal quite as much as I originally thought; there's only so much sitting on a beach on your own you can do before it becomes a tad lonely. So I think I'll go for July and August and see how it goes. If I can pick up some teaching work or something to keep me busy then that would be ideal. I'm also looking forward to having an opportunity to improve my Italian – both speaking and cooking!

I am a little nervous about giving up a good job/career again, and leaving behind my lovely colleagues. Work, as much as it pains me to say it, gives me some much-needed stability in my life. I enjoy having a routine and it gives my life some purpose – one big thing that's lacking in my life. My colleagues make my working life an absolute pleasure, especially Luke who, in the past week, has surprised me with bunches of daffodils and a beautiful necklace from Amsterdam. That, combined with a surprise Graze box from my lovely sister and a box of beautiful Belgian chocolates from Graeme, have made for a lovely week of unexpected presents that have brought a smile to my face. Thank you all xx

Emotionally, I'm in a really good place at the moment. I feel really strong and positive and am enjoying my life. I'm feeling unsettled about the immediate future, including the prospect of packing all my stuff away and renting out my flat, but I know that the benefits of some time out will outweigh all that. I was saddened by what happened to Fabrice Muamba at the weekend – that brought back some memories of my time in the ICU at the hospital after Tim's accident. It also made me think about how hard it must be for the family when something like that happens to people in the public eye.

Anyway, I think that's all my news, or a summary of it anyway. Hopefully you can expect to see more posts from me in the near future. Hopefully from some more exotic places than London too...