This week I passed another milestone. I locked my house and left it for the last time.
All things being equal, the completion of the sale will happen tomorrow when I'm out doing other things.
It turns out that the almost painfully slow transition of moving out of the house and into my new flat did me some favours. When the time came to lock the door, I'd said my goodbyes and although I had a little quiet moment in the room where my life was turned on its head, I wasn't sad or sorry to leave.
It was the right time to go.
Thankfully, the neighbours - well, now they're "ex-neighbours" - were on hand to feed me and we giggled over some old tales and they reminded me how, with help, I picked myself up and dusted myself down and that this day has been a while coming.
I'm reminded again what a big part of my life internet-based social networking played in getting me to take an interest again...and whilst I'm not as active in those networks as I used to be - it's not lack of inclination so much as time because I filled the void with new interests, a new business and new projects.
Last week a bunch of us went to the pub. No longer a monthly FlickrMeet with a flimsy veneer of camera-talk - since that stopped for most of us following some on-line unpleasantness - we were a bunch of pals...real people having a beer and a giggle. Once again I felt quite blessed to have this splendid group of friends around.
Tomorrow I'll be lunching with some old work friends, and then I'll be jumping on a train to Hertfordshire to spend the weekend with someone who I'd never had met were it not for all the social networking I got myself involved in. Once I'm there, there will likely be little tweeting, or checking of facebook...since we'll be planning what's next.
I hate that my life was turned upside down nearly six years ago. I hate that someone I loved decided that the world was no longer somewhere he could cope with being.
But there's a paradox.
I couldn't be any happier with how my life is just now.
Thank you everyone who helped me get from there...to here.
x
