WE ARE OFF PART ONE

Well hello my Dearest Bloggets. I’m back after a much needed break. Wait until I tell you all about it. Some would say we were crazy as both of us can’t see at all but what we did made me feel so good and it was what the two of us needed in fact all five of us, were as one.

 

For two months I searched for the perfect holiday for my Husband myself and our three children. Well, they will always be our children no matter how old they are. But to let you know they are or, were, more on that later, fifteen, seventeen and eighteen.

 

It was a celebration my Son finished with great results from college and got rid of the hateful one in his life. That alone is a celebration for us all. Then our next daughter has finished her A, levels with I’m sure wonderful results but we won’t know until August. And our youngest, has finished her GCSE’s again she will do really well as is as bright as a button.  So all the stress of exams for them. A new life for teen and new beginning for all of us. Then My darling Husband and I have been married for a special amount of years and he has worked so hard for a year without a break we haven’t been out anywhere apart from shops for the past year either, so we gathered as many pennies as we could and together with our children we went on an adventure!

 

I booked a house from a private agency. So there was no real guarantee that the house would even exist. I was terrified. If it went wrong it would be my fault. I couldn’t see any of the pictures on line just the description in words. I drove my Husband crazy as I was on the computer over ten hours per day, not only looking for a holiday, as I had lots of work to do as well, but I had to do my work during office hours so the holiday would be at nights when he was home. Well, as you know my computer talks in a kind of man’s voice each key I press. So this robotic voice dug into my Husbands skull. Oh how he did complain. And I must say, there were times when I was ready to give up too! But I thought to myself, I’m not just doing this for myself, in fact it was for all of us. And once I start something, I can’t let it go, so I was on a mission.

 

I don’t do things by half either. It had to be perfect. Well, as perfect as we could afford. Every time over the past year we have thought about going out, we have put the money a side to pay for what we owe and for this break.

 

When I told my Husband that I booked a holiday that wasn’t protected, he wasn’t a happy bunny. In fact in our little bunny burrow, it was almost rabbit pie on the menu.

 

So, where did I book to go to? Well, somewhere I have never been but always wanted to go to. When I first booked it, I was told on the website that it was only seven hours from London. Hmm. Right, not quite. The journey as we unfolded was actually a nightmare we never anticipated.

 

As I had already booked the holiday, we had to arrange travel ourselves separately and believe me that wasn’t easy either.

 

Seven hours? Em, no, Try fourteen going and coming back, almost twelve. And when I learned of the actual way we would have to do this? As blind people I really thought I had done a huge error. My sighted friends said that no way they would have done this, but hey ho! For me who some years ago was terrified to step out of my front door on my own, to doing this? Well, I know we would have our children with us, but more reason to be careful. For those who think blind people shouldn’t have children and believe me, my Husband has come across people like that including family members, middle finger up to them a journey and a half we were about to take part in and a holiday for our little darlings we were going to have.

Oh, that’s if the house we were to stay in even existed!

 

Our dogs went on a holiday separately. I was so sad to see them leave. As they were not going to be together as well. I did worry about them. I just wished that I could have told them it was not for long and we would have them back. I wanted them to understand this. I knew mine would be OK as I knew who she was going to. And this lady loves dogs she is so sweet with them and my little Waggatail already knew the lady. She was to stay with Hermione, but as for LC, she didn’t know the man. And she is a Shepard so she is so loyal to my Husband and could pine for him. Oh it was not good. I did have a lump in my throat.

 

Through kind text I learned that my Wagga was happy and it was obvious that the lady who had her loved her. That put my mind at rest. I’m sitting here in my living room writing to you waiting for both dogs to return tonight with Hub as he will collect them at work. The house is so quiet without them. It’s odd to write without guilt as normally I feel bad about not paying attention to them. As for our canary, would he be OK on his own? Well, he sits in his big cage on the wide windowsill, so he can watch the world passing him by. I bought him a huge water bottle as well as the small one he had already and we filled his bath up too so he would have lots of water. As for food, well, Teen filled up his dish and we put some fresh veg just a tiny bit for him. Some sweet corn and broccoli. But I was in fear that we would come back to a bird that was ill or worse. We have never left him on his own so long. Two days was the most he has been left without someone coming in to see him.

 

Cases packed. I washed ironed and took the least clothes we could get away with as we only wanted to take a case between Hub and myself. Teen had his own and packed his own. I have taught him to do that since he was about fifteen as it’s a great lesson for a child. I had to pack my own case from the age of six. At boarding school we had to do this. It teaches responsibility I think and is a good memory test. My Son does it so well.

 

Oh believe me; getting all of the tickets passports and other documents together was scary. So, passports, hell, I have a bank book that looks exactly like a passport. Imagine if I took that instead of the passport? Insurance documents, to us bits of paper. We between us, typed out the directions we needed to follow in print for the kids and Hub did Braille for himself. Well, as for me? I’m as my Husband tells me illiterate. I don’t read Braille and can’t see print. So I’m kind of stuffed.

 

Now, was the printer working? Was there any ink on the paper? Who knows? Not us for sure. But the machine made that sound as though it was doing something worthwhile.

We kept everything in a folder. We already had been for foreign currency with our Son who kindly took Hub to collect it. Organisation is the main key and Hub is so used to this with his last job of traveling all over the world, I left that stress to him, though to hand over everything to do with paperwork and have no knowledge of this at all was to trust for sure.

 

I wore a rucksack. Oh how I hated that but I have to admit, it was so useful. It meant that I had my hands free. I linked onto one of the children, cane in other hand. If I were not to take the white cane, people wouldn’t know we were blind or I was blind and they most of them anyway, make a wider birth if they see me coming with my stick. I don’t use it as I should it’s just a sign. “Watch out big blind Mama heading your way.”

 

Well, we had to take a taxi at four in the morning. This was fine for me as normally I would not be a sleep by this time. Teen hadn’t even got to sleep. Hub had just over four hours.  It was a long taxi drive to the station as our local station wouldn’t get us to London in time.

 

Streight on the train. I was excited an yet apprehensive of what would be at the other end of today.

 

Our girls got on after a couple of hours. Hub was so happy to see them. He misses them so much but they stay with their Mum who made sure that they had everything for their journey.  

 

We got off the train in London and headed for the Euro tunnel. It would be my first time on that. It was a ten minute walk. So many people. So much noise. Hub had his case and a huge heavy rucksack on his back me with my sack looking rather butch. I don’t like that look. Teen had his case. The girls had their bags and Teen kindly took one of the suitcases like a real gent.

 

We had arrived at the Euro tunnel and time to show passports.

 

Later with more.