Last night, we aimed to eat out at a local restaurant not far away from here, but it was closed. It was the Eid, after all and we didn’t expect small, local restaurants to be open on the equivalent of our Christmas Day! Our lovely hotel guide thankfully had a back up plan and took us to one of the touristy parts of the town, to Kalamar, a fish restaurant. We were told all day yesterday that the Turks would be celebrating and knowing how family-oriented the Muslim culture is, I did expect the place to be full of foreigners. It wasn’t! Young and restless local Turks  were out with their girlfriends and close friends, having their bayram with loud drum music, singing and dancing (on tables, Emma would add!) and plenty of food and drink! On the second day of Eid, the atmosphere in Istanbul reminds one of European countries on Boxing Day. Tranquility. Contentment. Peace. We had a day planned in the Bazaar, which is only two tram stops away from the hotel …

As you may know, we have been in Greece for the past two weeks. We flew in the same Saturday the Greek government announced that they were unfortunately running out of cash(!!!), had imposed degrading capital controls on all its citizens, and into an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty. Alex and I have followed closely the whole thing, trying to get our heads around the  ramifications of the two possible outcomes to the issue: Eurozone leave or a possible “deal.” We naively cheered the bravery of the “OXI” just to wake up the following morning to the disappointing news of Varoufakis’ news of Minister No More. We understood, as a couple who had to deal with banks and debt and interest-only payments, that this was all a game, a dirty political and financial game, on a much larger scale. We hoped that, just like we did, a few years ago, the Greek government will SEE that the only way out of debt and stupid, generational, financial bondage was to call the IMF for their bluff …

My son has been dead for a year. How did we manage to survive the initial emotional Hiroshima? How did we remember to breathe when the pain was stronger than the desire to stay alive? How did we live beyond the very traumatic firsts: the first night without our boy, the first week, the first month? And now, the first year. I don’t know. I still don’t know. All I know is that even if it sounds like an eternity, this year has changed nothing when it comes to our longing for a different ending and to our emotional pain. We still think of Georgie every day. We still miss his presence. We still wonder how it would have been to be four, everywhere we go. For pizza, to the beach, on weekend trips. We still feel his physical absence, even now, after a year. We miss having another car seat at the back. We miss having another mouth to feed. We miss buying blue swimming trunks and shark t-shirts. We miss seeing Emma learning …

It’s the simple things that make life worth living. It’s not the power or the money or the game of winning. It’s the breathing in of freshly cut grass. It’s creme brûlée eaten with a teaspoon. It’s the sound of the birds celebrating a new day. It’s the freshness of a warm croissant flaking away. It’s the love that you share with the ones you call your own. It’s the giggles and the cuddles and the chatting about “your best day.” It’s the realisation that my best day was when. I held both my children close, delirious on the blessing of togetherness. It’s the love that transcends time and grave and death. It’s the knowing that the love chain that binds us together knows not of space nor of years. It’s the simple things that make life worth living. It’s the knowing that you, my boy, are never too far away, As you live in my heart, And my love pulses for you,only one heartbeat away.

I have been fantasing about a pair of walking boots forever. Even more so from the beginning of this year, when we started exploring more of our beautiful Northern Ireland, I have felt the need of a pair of supportive, reliable and sturdy boots that will make the adventure of discovery a pleasure. I finally found the absolutely perfect pair when I was asked to review the lovely Ridgeway Women Technical Boots by Trespass. They are exactly what the website describes them to be: “… a fantastic choice for budding adventurers and avid explorers.“ I put them to test last week, when we went exploring the North Coast and had to walk for a good few hours over all sorts of terrain, from muddy to pebbly to hilly to inclined. “The boots benefit from a suede and mesh upper section, which is great at helping keep your feet fresh as it promotes the diffusion of air. Additionally, the boots help to keep your feet free from dampness thanks to our Tres-tex technology, which repels away …