We had planned on being in the Serengeti this weekend..   It’s incredible what can change in 24 hours, how much you can get done and organised in a few hours and how much distance can be travelled.

 

Last night, I was sat on my snug sofa…

 

Tonight, I am in a bed with a floor to ceiling view of the French Alps… piste bashers and shooting stars…

 

We had been playing with the idea, but had thought it would be too much effort, too much co-ordination, too much hassle, too difficult to organise, not worth the expense for just a few days, especially with the Big Man heading to London on Sunday.

 

As I walked out from my mentoring class yesterday afternoon in Armley, already buzzing from the experience, one phone call changed my plans for the afternoon!  “Flights, car, hotel all booked, Granny and Grandpa moving in… we leave tomorrow 7.30am… can you be ready?”

 

I love a bit of impulse and firm decision making… but with two kids to pick up, feed, beaver and bath, a backlog of washing, an empty fridge, a full diary of planned meetings and most importantly personal grooming a touch behind and definitely not up to par for a romantic weekend away… I felt slightly on the back foot and definitely not on top of a plan!

 

But with a deadline laced with a bit of pressure, there is nothing like clearing through the clutter to get the most important stuff done…

First off, emergency call in for “intrusive waxing” as my lovely friend calls it…

Second, meal preparation – big batch of chilli and a cottage pie – DONE! Granny has enough food for an army of small boys and Grandpa.

Third, enough of the boys school uniforms on express wash and aga ironed to last the week…

Woven around the big jobs to check off… picked up the boys, fed the boys, got them to beavers and back and in to bed… dug out the ski kit, packed… cooked and ate supper and drank a glass of wine to calm my adrenalin…

 

So back to the Serengeti..  and the great African Savannahs that can be discovered in Poppleton, Yorkshire this weekend. I explained to my fundraising friend that we wouldn’t be in Yorkshire / Africa this weekend to join in the fun to support orphanages in Tanzania.

 

Her wonderful reply, spoken in her sultry French Canadian accent… ‘Go!  Go and have fun!  Go drink wine!  Eat cheese!  Get fat!  Make love!’…

 

She is so right.  We all need times to just ‘Go!’…. get away…

 

For the Big Man and I, 6 months apart through some of the most upsetting and emotional times has been a strain, a test of our marital strength…  barely any time for ourselves as individuals, let alone moments for us as a couple, with weekends focussed on family, being together as a 4.

 

So for 4 days, we are 2…. Just 2.  With free flowing wine and plentiful cheese.  Bucket loads of snow and strong expectations of the sun glinting on the snow.  A big bed and a beautiful view…  Time to find ‘us’ again.