We arrived back from Galway yesterday and then went down to the Youth Leadership conference – where a friend of Renata was speaking – another wonderful young Croatian, Danjela – with the TRiO students. Haven’t really seen these students since I did the Welcome 3 weeks ago – though Renata has been out with them a few times – and she went out with them again last night – bumping into Jimmy and his mates out clubbing!
The Croatian links are getting stronger and I spent time with Violeta, Blazenka and her daughter Marta in Ireland and have arranged quite a few things for the future. There is a sense of magic around these links with Varazdin. They and I, both enjoy the story about how I watched the Webcam for 2 years before visiting Varazdin in 2001 and then meeting Blazenka and Renata in Stoke on Trent in 2003. Since then Renata has become so close to me, with Graz and holidays and visits, and now the formal links growing through work. A very strong sense of this is meant to be – though where it is leading I am not sure.
Galway was an opportunity for me to reflect on where I am going. In September it will be a year since Chris died and sometime over the following year I think I will be ready to think about where I am going in the future. But good friends and chance conversations are starting to make me think – there are two stages to this – first I must accept that what I do in the future does not include Chris – and I don’t think I am quite there yet – and secondly when I have accepted this - then I can start to think about what I want to do with the rest of my life.
But Galway though hard, did move me forward – what I do know is that my future in some way involves Croatia and Varazdin – because I have known this for several years now- and Renata and her sheeps just makes me happy.
