August ’22 – On Waiting

Today is my birthday. As I write this, I’m sitting at a kitchen table in south Devon, celebrating with my partner and his family.

August was a month of maybes. Between job uncertainty with my partner, a bout of depression, rising living costs and everything else, I found myself wondering what the future could possibly hold for us, whether we would be able to survive. For a few weeks at the beginning of the month, things looked terribly dire. I found myself constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But then a new opportunity turned up for my partner, and after a flurry of interviews, he landed a shiny new job in a shiny new city — a brilliant opportunity for both of us. We would be able to make a fresh start, go on a brand new adventure together. In less than two months now, we’ll be flying out, packing up our stuff to be shipped out of the country and leaving behind the house we’ve lived in for the past two years.

Two whole years. It seems like it’s been longer than that, but looking back on it now, I realize a lot of that feeling comes from the fact that Nottingham, for all the fun and friends we have here, has always felt more like a waiting room. We came here in the middle of the pandemic because London had nothing left for us. Living here allowed my partner to build his career in the games industry, and allowed me to start building my business. We made some great friends, but for all that…

It was never going to be the place we stayed for the rest of our lives. Nottingham was never the goal. Nottingham was a place to live and work and love while we waited for better things.

And now, at least a few of those things have manifested. So here’s to new opportunities and new horizons. Here’s to building new friends and new foundations. Here’s to Barcelona!

It’s amazing how quickly your life can change, even when you feel like all you’re doing is waiting.

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