I apologize for not writing about
last weekend sooner. It’s been
busy here in London, but now I finally have time to sit down and write about
it. As I mentioned previously, I
used to live in England because my dad was stationed here for the Air
Force. We moved here in 1995, when
I was three and left in August of 1999.
This is not the first time my mother has lived in England. In 1958, her parents were stationed in
England as well but at an Air Force base that is no longer open. This is when my grandfather joined a
football team and met now-life-long friend, Ray. For the two years that they lived in England, my
grandparents, Dick and Holly socialized with and became very close
friends with Ray and Edith.
This has been a friendship that has lasted over a half of century and
has stretched across three generations.
When I lived in England as a child, my mother made a point to introduce
us to this quant, yet eccentric, English couple, along with their two sons,
Barry and Allen. I’ve often referred
to them as my British grandparents growing up, and still sometimes see them
that way.
These are the people I ended up
visiting last weekend. Nicole and
I took a train up to Ipswitch, and the plan was to then catch a train into
their hometown of Saxmundham.
Unfortunately, trains have a tendency of going slower than anticipated
and we missed our second train.
Lucky for us, Allen lives walking distance from the Ipswitch train
station and met us there so we didn’t have to wait in the cold for Ray and
Edith to pick us up. I am still in
awe that Allen recognized me; maybe I’m even more surprised that I recognized
him. The last time I’ve seen any
member of their family was NINE years ago in 2004 when we last visited. I have a feeling our appearance changes
quite a bit from 12 to 21. No
matter, we eventually arrived at their cozy house in Saxmundham and were
greeted with a lovely cup of tea, a tray of biscuits and a pleasant amount of
nostalgic conversation.
The thing I love about Ray and
Edith is that they are true English.
Saturday, it rained all day long but it really didn’t faze them. After living in that area for so long,
they no longer let the weather decide how their day will go. We were drug out to about three
different beaches throughout the day.
We saw the Southwald Pier and even drove by the “House in the
Clouds”. The highlight for me;
however, was getting to see the house my grandparents, mother, and uncles lived
in back in 1958. Despite the rain
(which turned to snow), we really had an all around pleasant day. Later on, they took us to this lovely
little inn for fish and chips, a pint, and of course ice cream for
dessert.
Sunday was Mothering Sunday in the
UK, and it was purely by accident that we picked that weekend to come. Still, it meant that I would get to see
Barry and his two fairly young sons, Joshua and Oliver. Unfortunately, other Mother’s Day plans
kept us from meeting Barry’s girlfriend or from seeing the boys for very
long. Still, it was nice meeting
the newest members to our lengthy line of long-distance friendship. I should mention that I have never met
a little boy with such a witty yet rude disposition as little Oliver. He’s only four, but from what I’ve
heard he is quite a stubborn little bugger. His brother Joshua is also a cheeky little fellow and I’m
positive the both of them will go far once they get older.
I guess I just wanted to make the
point that it was so nice to be around familiar faces for the first time since
I started the program in January.
Yes, I live with all the other people that came here from Mizzou, but it
just isn’t the same. I finally had
a weekend when I could talk about something else rather than the random mundane
day-to-day ordeals that we go through here in London. We talked about my parents and grandparents. They told me all the little dramas
happening in their lives and overall we just enjoyed each other’s company. They also made sure not to deny me a fresh dose of english humour. I found myself the subject of many of their sarcastic jokes. I don't mind at all. I love their humour. Also, they had the single comfiest bed
I’ve ever slept in. Compared to my
flat in London, it was like sleeping on cloud surrounded by fluffy, clean
puppies. I haven’t slept so well
since I left my Tempepedic mattress back in January.
Ray and Edith have only been the
states a few times and my grandparents have only returned to the UK a couple
times since they left; yet they still talk on the phone about once a week. I do hope my friendships last that
long. Even if we are apart for the
majority of our friendship, I know, if the Newsoms and my grandparents can make
it work than I don’t see how I can’t with my friends now. And that’s the lesson. If you find people who’s company you truly enjoy, than don’t let them
go. Distance may be there but in
this day and age we have technology to work around that so NO EXCUSES. On a similar note, don’t waste your
time surrounding yourself with people who don’t make you happy. That is the first step to making your
life pretty miserable. Sometimes
it’s convenient to make friends with those that are close to you, distance
wise, but if those people don’t make you happy than it’s completely
useless. Find people that make you
feel great and never let them go, but don’t dwell around those who won’t give
you the time and day simply because of convenience. I would never have had the incredible opportunity to sit and
have tea with this lovely family if it were not for that mindset.
Cheers,
Janelle
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