On Monday my mum and I battled 4 suitcases, each weighing 23kg exactly, up to Heathrow. Just getting there felt like a massive achievement - and it was won with a fair few suitcase-inflicted bruises. Of course it turned out that heaving suitcases onto train luggage racks was actually the easiest part of the day.
Next came wine and goodbyes at Terminal 5 with Helen and Sian, dear dear friends who love me enough to give up holiday for my farewell (and holiday is clearly worth much more than gold because holiday is sunshine and sunshine is the source of all life on the planet). The wine didn't help much on the emotion front.
So, bestowed with boarding passes and relieved of our gargantuan cases, mum and I crossed through that one-way street that is airport security.
Deep Breaths.
Topped potato wedges and beer in Giraffe.
Gossip Magazine.
Then the flight. I hate flying and my general solution is to get as drunk as acceptably possible so that turbulence just sort of melds with the general swirliness in my head. The only good things about flying are the distractions of 'free' alcohol and films. We watched 'An education', which is brilliant and the girl in it is 100% deserving of her Bafta. Unfortunately the film only lasted 2 hours at which point I was very ready to get off the plane and there were 4 long anxious can't-sleep-in-case-my-brain-power-is-needed-to-keep-plane-in-air hours left.
Then the final visa hurdle of getting past passport/visa control (missed out a whole section on mum's form and had to go to back of queue but that was the worst of it) and the reuniting with our bruise-inducing cases and then the triumphant steering of case-stacked-trolleys through the arrivals gate.
No Jeremy.
2 minutes later he appears looking rather sheepish as apparently he thought he'd choose that moment to go and take a ride on the escalator rather than waiting anxiously for his future bride to come through the doors.
Nice one.
Thankfully for Jeremy I saw the funny side.
Which pretty much brings us up to now. In the past 48 hours I've felt every emotion possible and more. Kind of like when you climb a mountain and the next aching day discover muscles you didn't know you had.
I'd be lying through my teeth if I said the past few days have been easy. The weight of the realities of moving countries has hit me and I'm exhausted in a way you can only be when you've been functioning on adrenalin and will-power only to cross the finish line and immediately collapse. There have been highlights though:
- Applying for the marriage license, the form had 2 columns with the right one for Jeremy and the left one for me and since he's left handed we filled it in simultaneously. Way too cute.
- Late night conversations where I'm reassured that Jeremy is the friend and support I need.
- Unpacking cases and realising that not only does all my stuff fit into the spare drawers / wardrobe, it also wont need to be packed up again any time soon.
- Reeses peanut butter cups.
The weather is bleak. Rainier than England on a rainy day bleak. In fact, think Willesden high street on a cold wet Monday trek to the tube and you have an approximation of the level of bleakness that the weather is welcoming me with.
But the house is warm and Jeremy is here and I don't have to say goodbye to my mum for a week.
No one ever said this would be easy.
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