January 20th is D day. The moment when my Mother leaves the house she has lived in with Dad, for 40 years and where my brother, sister and I grew up. I have taken this week off, partly because I have no childcare but primarily to help Mum pack. It has been a tough week, marked by gruelling sorting and to cap it off my new au pair, due to move in on Friday, pulled out at the last, due to some sort of University clearing cock up or something.
I can only imagine what Mum feels, and judging from her detachment, it must be very difficult indeed. For my part I have enjoyed the trip down memory lane, going through my old bedroom, school books and photographs. My sister has joined me for most of the fun and games. Together we have filled 2 skips and countless boxes and collapsed at pictures of David's Cassidy and Soul. In the meantime Mum managed to lock herself inside her own car!? Letting go is tough but I'm still not sure she needs to take a book about the history of the Papal seal and legate, or for that matter another one on marzipan fruit. But there you go, one person's essentials and another's useless tat.
Yesterday I took Mum to her new cottage to point out that putting 3 sofas, three arm chairs, a dining room table, 8 dining chairs, 4 occasional tables including a Pembroke, 2 bookcases and a TV in her new sitting room was a little ambitious. She agreed, so she's going to put a couple of the chairs upstairs. This is going to be tough.
I have a full week, starting with a meeting with RBS to look at how they can support social enterprise development through SEL, and continuing with as much Mother moving madness as I can handle and no childcare, save what our former au pair the lovely Kirby can fit in around her teaching career. It all should be a piece of cake. I hope we have enough wine to get me through. I might get online before going to bed, just to make sure, after all, every little bit helps.
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