But before all that, I want to write about Cornwall - the place we left one month ago. Before I get caught up in the new adventures I want to take a moment to recognise the ending of this one. To say I'm thankful, to say while I think it was time for us to move on and that our time there wasn't all plain-sailing, that there's so much we received and learned from the people and places at the end of the land.
I've written before about how our initial reasons for moving to Cornwall didn't end up being the
reasons we stayed. Which was hard and good and hard and good. And that while moving to Cornwall isn't generally seen as a career move - in the past two years I've ended up getting a great job and Llewellyn was able to get his British citizenship, study an Access course and is about to start University at one of the best places for the degree he's going to do! Life doesn't always go how we think, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
We struggled to find places (especially churches) we felt we belonged in, and spent long periods questioning everything about our faith. The winters felt long. In the middle of it new friends bought flowers to the door and whispers of hope and glimpses of light and then summers came and were brief but glorious.
Living in the middle of nowhere with a stunning view and a spare room that enabled Llewellyn's brother to come and live with us for a while was good and it was hard and good and hard. Moving into a tiny flat on a crazy street in the centre of a small town where people are friendly but harder to befriend and gossip spreads and connections happen easily was good and hard and good and hard.
The land is beautiful and it's wild and it can be lonely and people come and go with the wind while others stay and chip away and mine for the gold that lies beneath. And it's rich and it's poor and broken and pirated and a magnet and the 'dream'. All of this and more. And we've been buffeted and broken and built up and blessed beyond measure.
Endings are important. I think we ended well. I think despite the harder times we found peace in most areas. I think, I hope, that we made the most of our time there - that we gave and received what we could. In the last few weeks we had special times with the people who made our Cornwall adventure golden. We were treated and visited and helped and hosted. I know many of these friendships will continue across the distance. That it's not all ended.
My intention for this blog post was to honour some of the people we met in the deep South West. I was inspired by my friend Kath's post. When I think about the people we crossed paths with over the last two-and-a-bit years I am filled with admiration and thanks for their stories, for the way they're facing and living life, despite challenges and heartache and loneliness and questions. For their creativity and strength and generosity and grace.
This post is getting long but let me raise a proverbial glass of cider and say, 'Here's to you'. Here's to you friends who really meant it when you said 'come round any time'. Here's to you who brought me flowers. Here's to you who gave us lifts around the county. Here's to you who love your families deeply and sacrificially in ways most of the world will never see. Here's to you who haven't let heartbreak and loss make you bitter. Here's to you who are dreaming for yourselves and for those around you. Here's to you who dance and paint and write and cook and capture beauty and share it. Here's to you who listened to my poems. Here's to you who looked at Llewellyn's art. Here's to you who sat on our sofa. Here's to you who give and give and give - your time, your money, your love. Here's to you who cheer on the younger generation. Here's to you who love Cornwall with all your heart. Here's to you who listen and take risks and see the best in others. Here's to you who hug tight and laugh loud. Here's to you who shared your lives with us. Here's to you.
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