High Hurdles

In the end it was just a few emails. The first key one arrived soon after lunch on Monday 15th Feb. Stephen was en route to visit his Mum, I was headed for the pool. After four previous attempts, all of which failed due to others down the chain, finally contracts were exchanged on our Minehead house sale. I could tell Stephen was pleased. Even as the penultimate message arrived, the one agreeing to complete on Friday 19th,  before we got on with our days heading in different directions, he was pumping the air ("Yes!"). So when 'the' email arrived confirming exchange it felt huge. 

But come the final visit it wasn't the packing up that took the time. Efficient as ever, by Wednesday evening we had most of the pictures off the walls, cupboards emptied and ornaments wrapped before thoughts of dinner started creeping in. For the sake of nostalgia we decided we'd return to the same tapas bar we ate at the night we moved in 6 and a half years previously. By some miracle it seemed to have survived the ravages of the economic crisis so we walked up the high street with, if not high hopes, certainly a sense of appropriate 'coming full circle' enthusiasm. It was closed. <Sigh> The nearby pub menu we considered as a first alternative was great - if you wanted chips with everything (we didn't), and the Italian that we finally settled on turned out to be staffed by the slowest waitresses and the most unimaginative chefs in Somerset. Enough said. Disappointing. 

Thursday dawned dry and bright, the seagulls were in fine voice and a sense of finality was settling over us but with the car to pack and a fair bit of cleaning still to be done we were up and at it promptly. Just as well. Maybe we're too fussy, too thorough, or simply too proud but it was late lunchtime before we'd finished, and it was time to say goodbye. Little did I anticipate the flood of emotions that ensued. Strangely it wasn't for the end of the era, nor for the house itself (although I maintain it has a lovely feel and with more investment will make a wonderful family home), no, it was for some of the older furniture that I felt a sudden and overwhelming nostalgia. That pine king sized bed into which our toddlers were welcomed, the old leather sofa that teenaged Chip fell asleep on night after night and the scrubbed and much loved kitchen table that had seen everything from kiddies parties to finger painting and wallpaper pasting to baking binges. It was all just slightly overwhelming. We left a note, we toured the rooms, made our peace and we locked the door one last time.

The drive home (after a fabulous lunch at the lovely late-discovered Toucan) saw us return to 'looking-forward' mode. Of course there was still the final hurdle to get over but with completion set for Friday and nothing more we could do, we turned our backs on Minehead and headed home.

And there we have it. Friday 19th Feb 2016. Sale concluded. Another email forwarded, a quick call from work to Stephen at home, a hug on arrival for lunch and a swift movement of the funds into an investment account with a favourite dinner on the menu that night. Not much of a celebration but a huge relief and a small step forwards to our next adventure. The End.