Dolly's blog: Change is Inevitable

Meanwhile, like Dick Whittington in pursuit of better career opportunities and a more favourable tax regime, it looks like Mr D is moving to Saudi Arabia. 

I should have known because Red magazine reliably informs me that Pluto is in Aquarius, so that’s all sorts of carnage right there.  Mr D says that’s ridiculous.  But change is inevitable because he’s leaving (what’s left of) the army, so life as we know it is turning upside down whether Pluto is involved or not.   

I was more down for Dubai tbh, or maybe a bit of Abu Dhabi.  But KSA it apparently is and I’ve been feeling surprisingly up-beat about the whole thing.  We’ve survived two tours of Afghanistan, the Iraq invasion, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Germany and (most challenging of all) Wiltshire.  So I think we’ve got this.

My job will continue much as before (I’ve started listening to whale music when in the office which helps) but on every other front even more change is afoot (it’s Pluto I tell you). The baby of the family has facial hair.  The middle one has just done GCSEs and is changing schools.  The big one has just done A levels and is about to start university – or Leave Home as I dramatically described it, the response to which was, “Mum I went to boarding school aged 8.  The ship has sailed”.  This was a massive exaggeration because she was actually 9.  And I normally see her at least every other weekend.

And then it dawned on me that very soon I won’t, and I had a bit of a snivel.  The new reality is that there will be plenty of weekends when it’s just me and our bin-raiding dog.  The same dog I’m pretty sure would eat me in an apocalypse situation.  I sometimes see it in his eyes, particularly when I’m standing between him and a dairy product. 

Mr D is not renowned for his tolerance of self-pity, referring to pain as “weakness leaving the body”.  So I suspect I shall have to turn to other forms of support and perhaps join some sort of… book group.  Or more likely enjoy regaining sole rights over the remote control and indulging in quality television such as Bridgerton and documentaries involving David Beckham.  This is quite an appealing prospect.

The way the last 3 years have panned out it’s entirely possible that none of this will happen.  But if it does, and when it inevitably gets tough, then I shall once again channel some Peloton motivational wisdom that helped me through the dark days:

I am.  I can.  I will.  I do. 

After 19 years of fee earning, Dolly now works in a management role in a London law firm. Working four days a week she is supported by a wonderful (though often absent) husband as they attempt to bring up three teenage children. A lockdown puppy adds to the chaos but keeps her sane.

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