The road trip - for real

 We had never done a road trip. As in we have driven to destinations in a car and spent some time, but Edinburgh was like 4.5 hours away. Pumpki has extreme car sickness, so we have always constricted our journeys to within 2 hours so that she doesn’t get too uncomfortable. We also tend to avoid windy  roads. The drive to Scotland would involve everything - a long journey, lots of hilly roads and sitting in a car. But Pumpki is 9 now, and we hoped she would be able to handle most of it. The biggest advantage of driving was that there was no time constraint to start to catch a mode of transport and boy was that a big sell for Pumpki since she hates waking up on time to catch a train or a flight. We could also pack our stuff all willy nilly, dump coats, carry extra shoes - the world was literally our oyster :D :D

It was immense fun driving through the lovely sunny weather. We took frequent breaks, swapped the driving between ourselves, snacked and the kids dozed a bit too. We started with lovely weather in jolly ol England and ended up with downpour in bonnie Scotland. The irony! Anyways, we can’t be slaves to the weather right? So we geared up to take charge of the trip anyways. The evening we reached, we visited my dear friend J. It was just so lovely to give her a cuddle and see her 2 darling daughters. My kids and hers bonded like they had known each other for a long time. Her eldest even came and mentioned that our family was so like theirs. Even J said to me that she had been telling her kids that we are the most similar family to theirs that could be :)

After some refreshments we headed off to the beach which was a 20mins walk from their house. We girls walked, we chatted and the husbands caught up. It was like we started off from where we had left in Ipswich. We went to a small park and J mentioned how we used to chat in Ipswich in the evenings in the park. It all seemed like yesterday quite literally. Time flew in hearty conversations and as we bid goodbye after 4 hours it seemed the most satisfying 4 hours ever. The next day we had plans to visit the Scottish highlands. But we still had one more day that we could potentially spend with each other. There were no concrete plans, but we finished day 1 with promises to meet again :) 

A road trip plan

 Its been a while since I posted on what happened the week after :) So here goes :) 

I made a friend during our stay in Ipswich. She was the wife of one of K’s colleagues. We used to bump into each other when she used to return from work and I would be in the local park with my little ones (I was on maternity leave then ) The casual hi, how are you, nice weather encounters led to more conversations. We realised we both intermittently used the same gym ;) We tried to motivate each other to go for the same classes. Some more casual conversations ensued. She was a nice cool person to hang out with and we enjoyed each other’s company.

Then life happened. We moved back to Leeds. We still kept in touch with the usual hi, what’s ups. They moved to Edinburgh and things moved in parallel non convergent paths for both our families. She ended up having her second child and a 2 daughters family like ours. We bought our first homes. We changed jobs. A lot seemed in sync happening in different planes. We kept in touch, discussing more than the weather. We discussed kids, husbands, jobs and gradually maybe everything under the sun. 

So this year she turns 40. I wanted to make a special gesture, just because. I couldn’t think of a good gift to give her. That’s when I had a light bulb moment! How about gracing her with my company :P I know not a lot of people would think of that as a gift ;) but I was kind of sure that she would appreciate it. I proposed it to K and he was surprisingly convinced that it was a good idea. Thus the  plan of a trip to Edinburgh took roots.

Scamp the champ!

 It was a lovely sunny Friday afternoon. We had some renovation work going on in our house. Our puppy development advisor came over with Scamp. Scamp was tiny for his age. And he was just so ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. He was an awesome bundle of energy with an amazing personality of his own. He was playful, very naughty digging holes all around the garden. He started grabbing things from the house like slippers, shoes, socks, hats - whatever he could lay his paws on and take it outside. 

Since he was a small puppy he didn't need long walks. A good playtime in the garden was pretty much enough for him. But boy he could play! There were so many games that he could be a part of. Tug of war, chase, football and so many more. That puppy was a bundle of energy. 

He also had this silly fascination for my slippers. He would do anything to get them, even bite my ankle. Thats what he did many times with his tiny puppy teeth 🙂 He was such a sassy personality. He would look at us eating and have the eyes full of expectation. But he wasnt a beggar. He would look at us with those proud eyes to make us give him something. If we didn't he would walk off and chill in the garden. 

He also had this amazing habit of basking in the sun which made us feel he was even human 😂Everytime  he used to wake up from his nap he used to come to a spot on the garden which had a lot of sun. He would be super groggy and sometimes go back to sleep in the sun or rouse himself up. He had his naughty witching hour as well in the evening when he would try to bite everything and everyone. It wasnt meant out of aggression or anxiety, it seems it is a think that puppies do when they are that young. Perhaps something akin to babies having colic when they are around the 4 month mark. 

It was a lot of fun having him around for a little over a week. It kept us fully occupied and very joyfully occupied. When it was time to bid him goodbye it was quite tearful and sad. But then we had the next week to look forward to!