Home, Sweet Home

Recently my husband and I had to fly back to Wales. We had a house to sell and a few business clients to see, so we were gone for 2 weeks. We knew that it was not going to be an easy trip so were not very keen to go anyway; after all, packing up a house full of memories was always going to be pretty emotional (not mention stressful). The fact that our tenant of the last 12 months had left the place in rather a mess was something we could have done without, so by the time we drove the 3 hours from Gatwick in dense fog and saw the state of the place, we found ourselves wanting to come straight back. But...

Once we got the house sorted and caught up on a little sleep, we felt better and actually enjoyed catching up with parents, dear friends, church and of course being able to get our weekly groceries over the internet! It was great to watch TV with no subtitles, to flush the loo with abondon, not have keep the candles handy - the list goes on. After spending a very civilized day shopping for clothes in Cardiff and much happy time in Asda browsing the new Katie Price range of lingerie and swimwear, I started to slip into a coma of commercial contentment, with the words ringing in my head "you can't get this in Cyprus...this is so much better than shopping for clothes in Cyprus...oh, I miss this product or that product...so good to see drivers following the road markings..."

I shudder to think now how shallow I had become! That's not the real me at all. I was awakened from my stupor as I sat in a jam on the M25 a week after we got back. I had driven to Essex for a meeting, and as the rain lashed the windscreen, the smog burned my eyes and the radio news made me gasp in disbelief at the state of the UK, I realised a few things:

1. That in fact I am happy to go daily to the market to buy oddly shaped peppers and potatoes that still have the dirt on them.
2. That I am never more content than when I am driving along the road from Girne to Catalkoy, with the sea on my left and those beautiful mountains on my right (even though I'm not sure what they guy in front of me will do next) because that's where my home is and my own little family is waiting there for me.
3. That while TRNC has its own set of frustrations and complications, the good here far outweighs the bad. I feel safe here when outside my house at night. Policital correctness has not yet marred our interactions with one another. I can say hello to a small child and no-one minds, in fact the parents love it! I have flowers in December. So what if the traffic lights at the Bellapais junction aren't all that efficient - at least there's no congestion charge or traffic jams that really make travelling unpleasant. I can live with power cuts - they stop us gawking at the TV and make us talk to one another or take exercise or do something much more fruitful than just sitting there!

Forgive me Cyprus, I forgot your charms too easily. I forgot how lucky I am to be here - some people never get this kind of life. I love this place - it really is a piece of Earth touched by Heaven. It really is my home, sweet home.