A Change of Pace

First of all, a big thank you to everyone's extremely kind words on my last post.  It never fails to amaze me how sweet everyone in the blogging community is, even though we've never met in person, I really do consider that I have a circle of blogging friends, and that means a lot to me.  I'm not sure that I spelled out in my last post what happened - my Baby's father passed away after a very long fight with cancer, as some of you already guessed.  The funeral was yesterday, and we're all a bit fragile today.  Although I don't tend to post much personal stuff, I really couldn't not mention it.  It's part of life, and I suppose I blog about my life and what matters to me, so there will be lots of non-vintage tangents at times.

It's really a time of change at the moment, and I'm pleased to also be able to share some happier news with you too...

I quit the job!

The one with the strict dress code, not the one with the tea drawer.  I'm back at my other job for the University on 4 days a week now.  (I hasten to add that the strict dress code wasn't the reason for leaving the other job!  It turned out it wasn't really enforced and was a lot more flexible than I initially thought.)  The commute proved to be pretty tiring, especially driving home after my shift on a Friday when the M4 ground to a halt.  I also didn't really see much scope for career progression, it wasn't quite the direction I wanted after all.

Anyway, it turns out that I would have had to quit anyway, because there is some other big news...

I'm moving up a mountain!

Yes, it's true, I am leaving the city, and my Baby and I are getting our first home together, on a hill up the Welsh Valleys.  It's going to be quite a different pace of life, and I will still have a commute but it will be by train, which will be cheaper and less stressful and I can actually catch up on the huge backlog of reading I have accumulated.  I'm hoping that with my extra day off I can do some voluntary work in the mental health field, but I also think that until I get that sorted there will be lots to do with a new home, and new skills such as painting and plastering and tiling to learn!

It's all change, and good to have something to look forward to in what has been a difficult time.  Just look at the scenery that will be 5 minutes drive from our new house.  We're both convinced that being in this beautiful natural landscape will aid the healing process and give us the new, fresh start that we're both craving.  Off we go, eyes on the horizon, a willingness to embrace all the future adventures we'll have, with good memories and love tucked firmly in our pockets.