You're Never Safe From Surprises Until You're Dead!!

I haven’t been a conscientious blogger so far throughout 2009! I've decided to start a new blog as I feel as if a new phase of my life is starting. It has been a bit of a bizarre year. I went back to Canada in early Feb, having made my mind up that as soon as my immigration came along that I would return to the UK. Most of it was stubbornness - I’d paid for it and I deserved it. (And I got it in early June. Although the prospect of me using it is pretty unlikely and getting unlikelier each day, but more of that later!)

So back to The Land of the Maple I went.

Basically, the thing that got me through the last few months was “my book” which I mentioned in the last post. I can honestly say that I wrote everyday between February and June - admittedly sometimes it was just a paragraph or two, but sometimes it was thousands of words that, in my most humble of opinions, have come together rather nicely. I have shown it to a cross section of booky people and, with the exception of one, they have all really been optimistic and full of praise. This week I plan to finish it. I have had so much on my mind since my return to the UK, almost five weeks ago, that I have been rather rubbish at keeping to my daily habit of writing - but this is the week!!! I have an appointment with a literary agent on standby. So watch this space! The thing is, even if nothing happens to it then it has given me so much pleasure, not to mention being seriously good for my mental health. For those of you who don’t know it’s basically the story of a woman whose marriage breaks down, ends up back in Wales with her parents (is it sounding a wee bit familiar yet?), takes up genealogy on the suggestion of a friend to get her mind off life for a few weeks, discovers relations in New South Wales, suddenly comes into an unexpected sum of money and is invited over to stay by her new relation. It’s lightweight, funny, romantic and total escapism.

So it’s less than two months to my 40th birthday. I can’t say that I have really been dreading it as I do believe it is just a date and I had already started my “life begins” phase a year or so ago. My diet is now effortless. I am a UK size 8 -10 and a US 4 - 6, which is total madness! I still can’t believe it! Once again, I can’t recommend “Neris and India’s Idiot Proof Diet” to anyone wanting to change their way of eating. If I can do it then anyone can. Really!

It’s 6.33 am here. I’m sleeping in the little bedroom as ……… my boyfriend, ahhhh it feels so weird to write that, is hopefully fast asleep in my bed. Yes, here’s a story and a half coming up for you. Hey, it’s me - what would you expect?

So meeting someone special wasn’t on my agenda. I had no real idea of what I was going to do when I left Canada, I had notions of moving to London, of volunteering overseas, of maxing out my credit card and going travelling for a month or two and then came TD - The Drummer!!
Okay, twenty six years ago - yes, it’s one of those type of stories - I went to the annual church conference aged thirteen. It’s mentioned in previous posts - it was one of the highlights of the year for my friends and I. Basically the day would be free to enjoy the fair, games room, pool - or simply hang out with friends and in the night there would be meetings for kids, teens and adults.

This particular year a guy K, who has been renamed Matchmaker by my sister, who was from our church was in the band who were leading the music for the teen meetings. My friends and I were all very proud of this and took seats in the front row that first night. Now remember, we were between 13 and 14. Well, we all got a crush on the drummer. We got a BIG crush. We went to the local Butlins shop and bought badges with his name on, we bought combs with his name on and we bought pens with his name on. Very unsophisticated. As I write this half of me is laughing and half of me is cringing! The poor poor guy must have been mortified - he was 19. I haven’t actually asked him if he was mortified, I will do so later!
Anyhow, apart from oggling him every night from the front row and having a photo taken with him on the last night, that was it. Mum came across one of the badges a few years ago funnily enough! I’ve never forgotten him - yikes, he probably was my first real crush. I am trying to think if there was anyone before him …… and I can’t at the moment.

So forwards to June 2009 when K/Matchmaker leaves a comment on my Face book - we have a few mutual friends. I replied and made a light hearted comment about “the badges” and he said that The Drummer was divorced. And I need to check up on timings here but I can remember going into work that day and telling my boss that I had just had an email from a crush that I had at 13. And of course I told Mum who thought it was so funny as she remembered that crush!

So we spoke a lot over the next few weeks. It was crazy. The change in friendly emails to “wow, you sound lovely” emails happened pretty quickly. But I still didn’t really think that anything major would come of it - after all I didn’t want a relationship remember!

When I got back to the UK conversations got a bit more intense and he was a major part in helping me over those first few days of total misery and pure desolation. When I got home there was a lovely letter, card and Lenka cd :-) Then I went to Italy with a friend for a few days and we kept in contact and when I got the blues one day - he was the person I turned to. This was kind of when I started to slowly think that this person was seriously lovely and maybe this could be “something” but, still, I didn’t want a relationship. TD was egging me on to meet up, he lives in the West Midlands, but I was so so shy and kept on refusing.

Then just over a week and a half ago he sneakily went for my Achilles heel and asked me if I wanted to go and see “The Sound of Music” in Cardiff. I didn’t quite say yes but he got the tickets anyway so there was no backing out. Well, for the next two days I was a bundle of emotions. My sister was great - she had looked at his Facebook pics and said “okay, he’s cute! You have to meet him.” I really was thinking of suddenly coming down with swine flu as I was so nervous. It was a surreal few hours before he came that Saturday morning, already having had our first argument, on whether I should get train to Cardiff (wise idea) or if he should come and pick me up and double back (stooooopid idea) - he won.

Saturday afternoon = Mum, Dad and Aunty all in living room. “He’s here Julia, he’s here.” And with my stomach going crazy I went to open the door to him.

And after a few moments it was as if we had always known each other. Total madness. Total! After a quick cuppa we drove off to Cardiff. I explained to him from the start about my inability to give directions - and he hasn’t had a sense of humour failure with me yet.

We had lunch in a gorgeous restaurant called Demiro's in the newly revamped Cardiff Bay area. I seriously recommend this place - not only was the food and wine great but the waiting staff keep on breaking into operatic arias. It was magical.

Then off we went to The Sound of Music. Yes, he’s a musical theatre fan too!!!! It was the start of Connie Fisher’s tour as Maria. Well I was blubbering from the first bar of the overture. She was divine, if anything her voice has improved. I was totally on Cloud Nine. Somewhere in the middle of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” I felt a hand clasp mine. And apart from when we applauded, our hands pretty much stayed clasped all the way through the show and, madly enough, almost all the way home.
TD came in for a cuppa and then went off to stay the night with The Matchmaker and his wife.

I went to bed feeling very Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.

He came back the following afternoon and we went for a walk, hand in hand, down the beach. He asked me if I liked the movie “Moulin Rouge” - of course I told him that I loved it. What does he do but break into “Come What May” …….

So of course, that was it. I was hook, line and sinker. And it seems so was he.

I’ve been up in London most of the week - totally unable to make any decisions about whether to live there as I have had TD on my mind all the time. We’ve been constantly texting, phoning and emailing - my sister and niece just think it’s the best thing ever and can’t wait to meet him.
He came over yesterday afternoon straight from work and we had another lovely cuddly day. I cooked my “Sweet Potato and Mushroom Casserole” for him last night and then we watched “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” - yes, he will watch old movies with me too!!! Okay, I admit he sang "Moon River" to me as well.

We’re taking it one day at a time. But it’s looking pretty amazing. We’re so similar in so many ways. Probably the only way that we really are different is that he doesn’t drink alcohol, at all. He doesn’t mind me drinking obviously but I’ll have you know that up in London I refused more wine than ever before. He’s divorced with 4 kids between 15 and 19 who live with him - but he’s happy to have another one. (Can you believe that we have talked that already? It’s madness. But it’s a lovely madness and I hope it lasts.) He’s conveniently off work for two weeks this Friday so we are going to go camping and I might get to meet some of the children - yikes!!! I have spoken to his daughter (18) on Facebook and to his mother on the phone last night. I might end up with the big family I always wanted after all :-) My parents adore him already!

Oh what IS going on here?!!!!!!!

Maybe it’s all a figment of my imagination. Maybe I should go into my bedroom with a cup of Good Morning tea and make sure that he is really there.

I'm back and .... yes, he's really really there :-)