It’s time to spend a few moments walking amongst the lakes and mountains of alpine perfection. To remember precious family trips to Switzerland. But there is so much more. Every day I’m thinking more and more about future trips. Living out hopes and dreams there. It won’t happen today but it can definitely still happen in the future. You just know when something feels right.
Another walk down memory lane. Special places like Switzerland help create everlasting memories. So on this Easter weekend let’s go back ten years. Back to an Easter weekend in 2012. A wonderful family weekend in Switzerland. Time to remember and smile.
It’s just turned Sunday and I am dreaming. Dreaming big. Dreaming of the adventures of a lifetime. Dreaming of family memories still to be made. Dreaming of new times in Switzerland.
It’s been 6 long years since our last time amongst The Alps. So much has changed since that holiday. To our family, to the world. But Switzerland is still there waiting. New life doors can still open. After the last few years it’s easy to forget just how wonderful life can be. But it really can be. This can be such a wonderful life. This is such a beautiful planet, places like Switzerland prove that.
It’s just turned Sunday here. The national news has just been on the radio and it’s grim yet again. What has happened to England, I don’t recognise it anymore. The wind is howling. It’s pouring down. The dog is refusing to go outside in that. It is definitely feeling like it’s February and my mind is again wandering to another country. I wish I was in Switzerland. On holiday there – YES. Living there – DEFINITELY
How that happens, I have absolutely no idea. But it does sound good. Can you see why? I can….
I love Switzerland. So many holidays, so many memories. It’s such a special place. I would move there in a heartbeat. Hopefully these Sunday homages give just a feel for why I feel that way. But it’s not just me. Hawklad feels the same way. It’s a country where he feels comfortable and safe. He finds it exciting and full of wonder. Yes Switzerland is special.
The North Yorkshire Moors late on a cold January evening. This is truly an amazing planet with so much staggering beauty to be experienced and enjoyed. It’s really there, we just need to remember to lift our gaze upwards.
Back in 2016 that was an alien concept. Gazing upwards. Why when all I could see was never ending emptiness with no sign of light. Robbed of dreams and a way forward. Refusing to move from a door which had abruptly slammed shut and as long as I waited, would never open again. I felt like screaming but what was the point, who would hear, I’m not even sure I would have heard or even cared.
But now in 2022, as I watch the setting sun cast a golden light over the moors, my gaze is lifted once more.
Yes life might still be tough somedays but it’s good to dream again. Different dreams, bigger dreams. It feels wonderful to want to experience the world and what it has offer again.
It’s Sunday here in damp and cold Yorkshire. I so want to be somewhere else, somewhere special. I want to have the best of dreams and adventures in a magical land. The best dreams should involve Switzerland.
I have been fortunate to visit this wonderful country on a number of occasions but sadly never during December. I so want to experience that time there, but I want to arrive in plenty of time. Santa arrives on the 6th December. On a donkey from the local forests rather than travelling airmail with reindeer’s all the way from the North Pole. This day is called Samichlaus Abend, that’s Santa’s Night. He brings bags of treats. Presents are exchanged on the night of the 24th and onwards. But Santa also comes with a dark hooded companion. That chap is in charge of punishing naughty children by hitting them with a broom of twigs. From what I’ve heard, his role is like a lighthearted pantomime villain.
From then until Christmas Eve (Helliger Abend – Holy Night), wonderful street markets, festivals and processions take place. Christmas Day often marks the start of the winter sports season.
Yes one year I would love to experience Christmas in Switzerland. We live in hope. Another dream to be worked towards.
Even on a grey, bleak day, there is always something to see. Always something to admire.
So many leaves on one small bush and every one is unique. How cool is that. Nature gives uniqueness a chance to shine.
Some things are hard to fathom out. Hawklad has made astonishing progress over the last couple of years. Two years ago he was struggling to read, falling further behind the class. Getting no help from the system. The attitude was that if he couldn’t read by that age then real progress was unlikely. Any help should focus on getting him used to using technology to help assist with his permanent dyslexia.
Fast forward today and he’s been happily reading a history textbook. No help required. He might need to guess the occasional word. He might read the occasional word incorrectly. But he’s reading. He’s aiming to finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy next year.
It just shows what can be achieved.
Why does the system give up so quickly on so many of our children. So much untapped potential.
I remember being told by a Psychologist of an autistic teenager who was profoundly dyslexic. She was wrote off by the school system yet she was clearly incredibly gifted in so many areas. She had a dream of learning to fly a plane. So many obstacles were placed before her. She was told her dreams were unrealistic, beyond her. Yet years later she became a qualified helicopter pilot.
Hawklad has kept believing. That helicopter pilot never stop believing. Isn’t it about time our society KEPT BELIEVING in every child.
It’s Sunday so my mind is wandering to a country 1000 miles away. To a country of mighty mountains and peaceful lakes. Many family holidays, so many memories. Switzerland.
What can I say. I can hear the rain beat against the house windows. I can hear the wind whip down the chimney, the gate thump against the wall. The central heating is on full and it still feels cold. England is grim when it’s like this.
Earlier Hawklad basically said ‘why on earth do we choose to live here…..’. There’s a good reason why here we talk about the weather all the time.
I need to distract myself. I need to focus on my dreams. To focus on the best things in life.
Time to make a hot drink, dig out some old photos. Walk again in Switzerland. Yes that pesky Yorkshire weather is well and truly shut out now. I’m dreaming.
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 