Sunday 19 June 2011

Reconnecting in the Tuscan Sunshine

Yesterday was a good day. Yesterday, I faced down some demons and started to heal. Yesterday, doors opened that I thought had been shut. They may only be just ajar, but they are no longer locked.

My mountaineering group, for the second time in as many weeks, decided to change the day of their outing at the last minute, thus rendering it impossible for me to go with them. I was spitting feathers. I have a busy life and I kept the advertised days free at considerable inconvenience to myself and others, only for someone with plenty of time on their hands to decided they didn't like the look of Saturday's weather, and so change the outing to Sunday on a whim.

I was fairly pissed off. Well, as one door shuts, another opens. A friend from university, Amanda, was having an art exhibition in a town about an hour's drive away so I thought I'd go and support her, catch up and reconnect. I headed down the rainy motorway with Saskia and Eartha.

Amanda had spent the past three summers in Tuscany, painting the Italian landscape. Apart from being insanely jealous that anyone can spend their summers doing such a wonderful thing, the collection of paintings she'd compiled were gorgeous. The landscapes glowed with colour, form and sunshine. I loved them all.

We spent the afternoon chatting and catching up, while a stream of visitors came and went. The girls did some pictures in the other room but eventually they started making too much noise so I took them out to visit some other friends from uni, who live on the next street.

Andy and Ellen used to be very good friends, but we had lost contact since I got married and had kids, so I was unsure of my reception. As it happened, there was nothing to be worried about. We chatted away as if we had never been apart. It was lovely. I felt a great weight lifting. I have missed them very much.


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