I realised that I was downsizing, the small two bed flat was a quarter of the size of the four bed detached house I had left behind, but I optimistically, thought that I would only bring the contents of my studio, bedroom and a couple of items of furniture. I say optimistically, because even though I had left more things than I was bringing, the flat was full to bursting in no time.
I was lucky, to be living on the top floor, and was delighted to discover a large loft space that covered the entire area of the flat, so I organised a lot of my storage in the loft giving me enough room to move. The great advantage is that the cleaning is so simple, no stairs to hoover, no huge rooms to clean, everything in its place and there is no-one to move things or make a mess. It was the first time I have lived alone since I was 18 and engaged to be married, after 23 years of having children around, it did seem to be very luxurious to be able to think of just my needs. The time and space has been wonderful, and I found far from being lonely, I enjoyed living on my own.
Every time I opened a box, it was a joy of re-discovering all the pretty things I had collected over the years, some of which had remained packed away during simply because they did not fit. China is a passion of mine, and it was thrill to be able to sit down with a tea pot and drink from the bone china.
West Sussex is a lovely area; I love walking on the beach everyday, there is something fantastic about sea air being only five minutes from the beach it feels so refreshing. The sun shines more here, as it tops the sunshine tables often. I miss walking in the woods, but I am sure in time I will find a nice place to stroll.
I think that sometimes life does throw us an opportunity now and then, a couple of years ago, I was living in a large house, with a big studio and doing a very demanding job, now I feel so grateful for my little flat, working on my own and being content, life really is simpler and better.
