No, I have not stopped blogging! I have been on holiday for over two months, and so has my blog. Not that I haven't had access to the Internet all the time - impossible to avoid unless you're spending your time living as a cavewoman, though even then you could take your little mobile router with you I suppose - but it's been okay for me to take a break.
I moved out of my apartment the second weekend of June, and handed it over to the new owners on June 13. On June 15 I boarded a plane at Oslo Airport and flew to Burgas and my holiday apartment in Bulgaria. The reason I left so soon after the handover was that I really thought I had nowhere to stay, but angels watched over me and found me a place to rent. The angels being my friend Grete and her lovely aunt Elisabeth. So I was able to move my stuff into Aunt Elisabeth's fantastic unused apartment in a great part of Oslo, and this is where I'm staying now, temporarily. I honestly don't know where I would be without my friends? In fact, I know of many others who have offered me shelter!
My apartment is in Marina Cape on the Black Sea - the promontory on the half circle (the marina)
My lovely temporary apartment in Oslo
The strangest experience though, is that I realise that there are only very few things I need. Have I missed those that are in storage? Not really.
This thought has of course struck me before. This summer I spent five weeks in the Bulgarian apartment, which is sparsely furnished, with only the bare necessities. Nothing luxurious, except for a dishwasher and a washing machine. Hmmm… and yes, two fridges. And a TV… But we cook on a small stove, with two rings, we chop and prepare food on a tiny worktop, using the dining table to help us out, but the food we make is always delicious! Otherwise we have the sun and the sea, and as long as I have my books I'm fine. My daughter Johanne and I also brought some TV-series to watch this summer - nine weeks of just chatting, reading and playing cards might demand a little bit of change - so we ploughed through "Olive Kitteridge,""True Detective 1 & 2" and "Bloodline 1." And some movies.
After ten days alone in Bulgaria I was joined by my eldest daughter and my two granddaughters. (My daughter's fiancé had to work practically all summer, having started a new business). What a joy to have them around! I am distracted, I laugh, I joke, I enjoy myself. We share that profound loss, which we also talk about, inevitably shedding a tear or two, but then we probably need just that. Our family bond has always been strong, but perhaps even more so after we lost one of us. People are sometimes amazed at how we can all be on holiday together for that many weeks without having any sort of big argument, but well, what can I say? Mutual love and respect, solving conflicts straight away, never bearing grudges, not taking ourselves or any whims very seriously. Getting over things and putting them quickly behind us. In fact we all have very little patience now with people picking arguments and blowing petty squabbles out of proportion. We haven't always been like this, have we? Of course we've had our share of marital problems, hard-to-handle teenagers, setting limits, finding our way out of seemingly never-ending difficulties throughout the years.
But always - always - pulling together in the same direction.
And perhaps the willingness and determination to rise above unfruitful conflict have made up our family's basis all along - only now is so much clearer.
What a simple lesson we've come to understand so lucidly: Life is short. Love and compassion must be inherent in our lives - here and now. There really is no time to waste.
I said to my daughter, you mustn't feel you have to keep me company all the time, you know. She replied, I like being with you. You know I do.
