More talk about weddings. Is this what its going to be like for the next 18 months? A nice sunny day today, and we went for a walk in Stowe Landscape Gardens. I didnât realise but Iâve never been there with Emma before (aside from our aborted trip to the gardens last month when we werenât allowed in due to wind but were able to walk in the wider, open, estate. Whatâs more Emma had only been here once before, with Sue. I know Stowe like my own home now, and I feel, as we walk around, being seduced by photo opportunities that I am sharing somewhere, as special to me as Burnham Beeches is to Emma, with Emma. It makes me happy.
We then visit Emmaâs Aunty Heather (Grannieâs sister) who is on the eve of the eve of the eve of her eightieth birthday (or something like that). She lives in a modern three bedroom house on the edge of Buckingham with a nice garden, and would be the kind of place that would be ideal for us. One day…
Then its home â only 10 miles and a little over 10 minutes â and just time for me to cook an early dinner of roasted squashes stuffed with sun dried tomatoes from the Jamie Oliver book. Another nice meal. All too soon, Emma has to leave, and I am left to dismantle the Christmas tree and take down the cards. I find myself feeling a little sad, but also optimistic. This has probably (definitely?) been the last Christmas tree that I have in this house â the last Christmas indeed. By this time next year, hopefully Emma and I will be living together and that is going to mean a new home for both of us – our home. Itâs an end of an era, and thatâs got to be something worth pausing to reflect with nostalgia on, but at the same time itâs a moment to look forward to things. Things arenât going to be the same again. Things are going to be different. 🙂
