I’ve spent the last two days driving around in a 9ft high van that takes up one and a half parking spaces. No big deal for some, maybe, but I’d spent at least a fortnight dreading the experience and expressing my anxiety to anyone who was unfortunate enough to ask how I was!

So it’s over – and guess what? It was a fun! It was an adventure! I loved having the children up front with me looking out of the huge windscreen, chugging along in a vehicle that almost seemed to drive itself.  I loved remembering  (eventually) that I can do gears.  I loved being able to pop into Ikea and get the children desks we’ve been wanting to get for over a year, slotting them easily into the cavernous back of the van along with the second-hand furniture whose collection was the purpose of our trip.  I loved the easy companionship I shared with J on the drive home today (C having stayed on a few days at Grandma’s) as we laughed out loud listening to Wishing For Tomorrow, Hilary McKay’s fabulous sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess.

Four hours down the M4 later, Big J and I unloaded the van and I returned it, all the while enjoying the wonderful high that comes from overcoming fears and transforming them into accomplishments 🙂