Happy Days

Tracy and Vicki Lou

My kids left home many years ago and are now living their own lives. The two boys have moved to the opposite ends of the country and I very rarely see them. I haven't seen the youngest boy for two years and I haven't seen his older brother for going on for probably five years or more. (It doesn't help when they 'forget' to give you their address or phone number either. It makes any sort of contact impossible). Thankfully it's a bit different with my daughter though. She's also moved out of the area and started her own life with her husband and two little girls, but even though she's not living in the same area as me any longer, she's still within travelling distance so we get to see each other whenever we can.

Vicki Lou watching one of her favourite shows

So it's extra special whenever they visit. When my daughter and grand-daughter paid a visit over the weekend we had such a great time without even leaving the house. It was only a short two-day visit but we packed in as much as we could, playing games and watching DVD's. Although there was one particular film we had to watch 'more than once'. Vicki Lou's favourite film happens to be Ice Age and she wasn't content with watching it just the once. Still, I'm not complaining. I was happy to just sit and watch her enjoying herself. She has such an infectious laugh, once she starts you have to join in. She's such a star she brightens everyone's life up.

Vicki Lou and mum waiting for their train to arrive

Whoever coined the phrase, "Time flies when you're having fun", got it spot on. The weekend just flew by. It seemed to be over before it had begun and before we knew it, it was time for them to leave.

When we got to the station for them to catch the train home, the platform was deserted. Our bus into town had got us there a little bit early so we had a bit of time to wait before the train arrived. It was like a ghost station. Certainly different from during the week when it is usually packed with commuters and students. There were only two others waiting to catch the same train so it turned out to be a pretty quiet journey back. It doesn't make things any easier though.

"Bye bye, granddad, see you soon"

I hate 'goodbyes'. I had enough of that when I was in the navy and I was the one having to go away. It broke my heart having to leave my family when they were growing up. Sometimes I was away for months on end. It's not me doing the leaving now, but the goodbyes are still just as painful.

We have to look on the bright side though. It's not going to be long before we see each other again. It's going to be my turn for a train journey soon, when I go to visit them at their house. (Note to self: remember to get a timetable so that I can check the times of the connecting trains). At least this time it's not going to be as long a wait as what it was was when I had to go away - back then I could have been gone for anything from six months to a year. It was awful. Thankfully those days are long since over and done with now.