2019 – the year of…

So I haven’t posted here since late last year, just before Christmas and incredibly it’s the last day of February already!?

I figured now would be as good a time as any to try and look back at my start of 2018 post (see here) and some other bits buzzing around my head and try and look ahead to 2019 albeit 2 months in and only around 4 weeks till we get back to the UK…

If you haven’t read the above post then in short, 2017 was an “annus horribilis” as the Queen of England once said however we all survived it just AND thankfully came out of if stronger which led us all to hit the road in April 2018 in Lightning our motorhome.

28 days into life on the road I wrote the following…

I never had any grand plans for any sort of personal ‘transformation’ before setting out on this trip but I was adamant from day one that I didn’t want to plan the fun out of things by pre booking too many things or nights ahead as one of the key the points of this journey for me was to embrace those unexpected things that happen along the way. By letting ‘The Universe’, fate, Karma or whatever your personal persuasion is guide us as a family thus far I think each of us can already be confident we have learnt something from everything we have encountered and experienced each day on this trip.

Sat writing this now on day 28, all I want for the next 337 days or so of our adventures is that when we all put our heads on our pillows each night we can sleep safe in the knowledge we have lived and not simply existed that day. I’m fully aware it might not be till the children are much older that they can fully appreciate their own development during this time but hopefully they will all look back fondly at what an incredible crazy journey their mum and dad took them on.

Nomadic dad post here

Well looking back now on day 334 I can say that there has indeed been “a personal ‘transformation’” for me during the proceeding 306 days between these posts. This transformation has not been a sudden, one day type of thing. I have had to continuously invest and work on my relationship with myself, my children and my amazing wife during this time. I also honestly think that if I hadn’t taken this trip or had such an amazing family then I don’t think there is anyway I would be writing such an amazingly positive post as this now.

However stating the above, this is really my ramblings on this blog so I can only really talk about things from my perspective but I’m confident each member of my amazing family would also be able to tell of similar amazing transformations if and when they want to tell their story to friends and family. So first up on my personal transformation list…

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I gave up alcohol (I think for good!?) around 4 and 1/2 months ago which is about 18 weeks or around 125 days ago but most importantly really close to 6 months or half a year now😲

As any man from Newcastle Upon Tyne (as in Newcastle Brown Ale) will tell you, and anyone else who has spent any time in Southern Europe where wine and beer are often cheaper than water, giving up alcohol is hard! Temptation is everywhere and until you step out of drinking alcohol no matter how little, I don’t think I honestly realised how much it seems to keep most of society functioning 😆

I can honestly say for me personally, giving up alcohol has been an incredibly rewarding experience as I truly feel a real sense of inner peace knowing that I don’t need a beer or glass of wine to ‘take the edge off things’ now. I am also able to go out for drinks and meals with friends drinking ‘sin alcohol’ beer or soft drinks safe in the knowledge I won’t have to feel pressure etc when a round of shots etc comes around 🍻

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I have stopped eating red meat mainly due to the damage that producing read meat is doing to the environment. I’m also very aware via the rest of my amazing vegetarian family that each piece of red meat should not be seen as a simply a food stuff as it is from another conscious sentient being.

I am still working on reducing the amount of chicken and fish I eat as well but this is already down to once or twice a week on average so I would say my average ‘meat’ consumption is down by around 90% 🐄 🐖 🐑🐔

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I have grown spiritually in terms of my thinking of how we are all interconnected including the animals and environment we are all guilty of damaging in some way in the past. This does not suddenly mean that I believe in ‘God’ and the dogma associated with such things normally but that I simply feel more in tune with life and it’s meaning in general 🙏

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I now see everyday as an opportunity to REALLY live life and as I hoped only 28 days into this trip, when we all put our heads on our pillows each night I genuinely think we have lived a richer and fuller life on this trip rather than simply existing a lot of the time back home.

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Looking ahead…

So looking ahead to 2019 rather than backwards to the year just gone these are the things I definitely know as of now…

• Our eldest has flourished on the road like all of us but is really keen to start year 7 to see friends more which is the start of high school in most of Europe.
• Our eldest girl will not be returning to year 6 of school back in the UK as we do not want her to have a whole year of SATS related teaching.
• I have several larger projects I need to work on over the coming months which means I will be working from a ‘normal’ desk more. This desk will still be one of my choosing in terms of it’s location and the hours when I am sat or stood at it etc though 😁
• We will be back in the UK in around 4 weeks time to get our house back from our lovely tenants and to see friends & family etc.

Apart from the above I don’t think we are 100% certain on anything else at the moment. However this trip has really taught us all not to plan too far ahead. Again, referring back to my earlier post, I’m confident ‘The Universe’, fate, Karma or whatever your personal persuasion is will guide us as a family to make the right decisions for us all during 2019 and I will try my best to post more about any such things as and when these happen.

Also please accept my genuine thanks for reading the above and my other ramblings on here👍 I am grateful to know this little blog has already inspired and helped others on their own journeys be it physical or mental via private discussions with some of you. This is something I’m super proud of but please feel free to leave any other thoughts or questions in the comments below or use the contact form here and I will reply ASAP either publicly or privately.

Happy 2019!