The house is clean, the washing is washed, the shopping is pretty much shopped all is well.  It is 10.30am and it feels like a long day ahead here in Wales.  No longer do I have neighbours who may pop in for a chat, nor children, albeit grown, who want to talk.  I think about going out to walk, but there is a storm raging and although the rain has stopped the skies are grey.

I decide to take the car up to the caravan on the hill and return the dining chairs we used over the holiday, I can check out the wind damage at the same time, then pop into the cafe to give New Year wishes to the lovely people there.

It takes time to put the seats down in the car, to clear out the debris biding its time in the boot, waiting for me to sort and clear it.  I get the chairs, there are three in total and it is a bit of a juggle to fit them all into, eventually I am all set for the off.  Except that I am going nowhere, the car, which hasn’t been driven this year is not starting.  Oh well.

I decide to walk into town, and am soon being blown along the street by the stormy gale.  Over the road a wheelie bin, full of holiday rubbish is blown over and there is a swirl of paper, card and other things flying everywhere, this is not a good place to be walking.  I carry on and see coming towards me two smartly dressed young men.  As we get close they are smiling, and we start to chat.

I had recognised them as members of the Latter Day Saints, before I heard their accents.  We shook hands and swapped thoughts on Wales, on how it feels to be an Elder, spending two years abroad for your beliefs.  We even talked about global politics including the President of the USA, they were both keen to point out they were in the UK at election time, nothing to do with them they said.   They were kind and respectful, I was honest in my opinion of organised religion, but there was much we had in common. I really enjoyed talking to them.  On a windy street in a Welsh seaside town, it was surprising, to find commonality between these boys, each a peer of my own children, and yet in a way seeming so much older.

The shop I was planning to visit was closed so I made my way back towards our house with a heavy heart.  I really didn’t want to be indoors, and yet walking in the wind was tricky.  Then I remembered about buses!!  What fun, I could still go to the cafe, but on public transport.  It was easier than I thought.

So,  I managed to do all the things I wanted but in a different way than I planned.  It struck me that my life seems to be always like this.  I am getting on with living, but nothing is as it was.  I guess that doesn’t mean things are worse than they were, just different, and I can live with different.

Back home tonight I was reflecting on the day.  Had the car started I wouldn’t have met the Elders and had such a good chat.  I enjoyed my walk from the bus stop to the cafe, and also found the freedom of not having a car to park quite a joy.  As a bonus, hubby has fixed the car, the battery needed charging, so tomorrow I can use it if I want, I am not sure, a bit of me is thinking that I may still get the bus.

So, here I am, embracing change, adapting to situations and finding treasure along the way.  I think I am doing ok at last.