A Bumper of an IMD Weekend

When we tell people that we are now based in UK, people assume, almost without fail, that we are in London. Which is an easy and natural enough association, since most foreigners have the image of London in mind when talking about the UK. 

But living outside London, in what someone has once remarked as "retirement countryside", we have a lifestyle nowhere near London. And with that, it also means we often miss out on the buzz when overseas friends come to London.

In the whole time we have been here up until before this weekend, we had only had one set of visitors come visit us - dear Kate and Dave, and that was when I was still in my second trimester.  After that, the one other time meeting up with IMD frens had been when we made the ardous trip down to London for a gathering, of which the notoriously congested London streets had prolonged the journey to almost twice its actual time needed - we crawled the last 8 miles, taking almost an hour to reach our destination, when that same amount of time would have gotten us home! And the discomfort caused to a young baby stuck in a car-seat had more or less convinced us that going into London is just something we would avoid if possible...

So, it is with excitement this weekend, when we receive 2 frens from our not-so-distant past in Switzerland, though that time definitely feels terribly distant. And the amazing thing is these 2 classmates had planned their visits for the same weekend separately, so, at separate times over 2 days, they came and went, missing each other totally. 

But the point is that we have visitors from IMD, bringing fond memories of our time together as well as news of other classmates from the last reunion, which we had sadly been unable to attend.

As we caught up with one another, it was just amazing to see how much change one year has brought for everyone. Many have already been promoted or changed jobs, while others have happy news of marriage or new additions to the family. And as for us, Joe and Eugene both found it almost incredulous and magical that the last time they saw us, there were just 2 of us and now, when they see us again, there are 3 of us!  We are, after all, not likely the same old Henry and Kelly who are likely to go out for drinks or club at the drop of a hat anymore.

And as we talked more, it is almost surreal to hear ourselves describing our lives - it all sounds really sedate and boring.  But I am not complaining really. We do miss our former lifestyle and being able to meet up with frens easily, but Julien's arrival has brought aspects of life that we love and have come to embrace. Perhaps, it comes with age. Or perhaps, parenthood brings with it more endorphins than we ever imagined. But this life now is real. And it is good. So, there are no regrets :)


With both visitors on a blitz visit, we really just focused on enjoying one another's company over good food and good conversation. And of course, much cooing over Jules and taking photos all round.

Thank you, our frens, for taking the effort and time to make the trip to visit us. We really enjoyed it very much and truly appreciate it. And we know Jules did too, 'cos he spent his whole time checking you out, didn't he, with his little sharp beady eyes? :)  And once he is older, we do hope to be more mobile and attend the reunions. In the meantime, keep well in work and personal life, and we look forward to the next call, the next mail to hear of your plans for your next visit! :)