This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
After a remarkably long time, hello again from Sassy Singleton!
Am I still sassy? Absolutely! My last ‘relationship’ described me as remarkably smart, incredibly sassy and very, very sexy. This was shortly before he disappeared to work a gazillion miles away 😢 At least it sounds catchy enough to put on my dating profile because am I still a singleton? Yes, I am. But am I contented? Yes definitely!
I still go on dates but not quite so earnestly and definitely on and off. I have been single for ten years, so I am used to and enjoy my own company. Covid made dating pretty much impossible, but then, during that period, I enjoyed spending time with close company, fabulous walks and binge-watching on Netflix. Since Covid, like many others, I used it as a chance to re-evaluate my life.
I am still working as a celebrant. I was asked to officiate at a few funerals; none of them was Covid-related, but a couple of women my age had sadly succumbed to cancer. It all felt a little too close to home. My father died in his 60s, and my mother was not far behind. I decided it was time to live my life in a way that made me happy.
This follows brilliantly from the recent article from Annabel about making changes in your life.
I have always had an affinity with the sea. I lived in Brighton (well, Hove, actually) in my early 20’s for about five years and had an absolute ball. I used to love the early evenings when the tourists had all gone home or the dark winter evenings when the waves would be crashing on the beach, and you could get soaked just by the droplets in the air. The smell, the sound and the wildness of the water never failed to invigorate and enrich my soul.
So fast forward (or rewind ?) to April when I upped sticks and moved to Dorset. I sold my house back in November, but after a difficult and tumultuous couple of months – my buyers pulled out on the day of the exchange and two days later, the gorgeous Victorian house I had set my heart on was sold to someone else. I think I cried every day in February. It felt like all my plans were being thwarted at every turn. I even had a job lined up.
Eventually, I found a cute little house in the most amazing location to rent, and now I rent out my own house. This feels like the perfect solution. Many friends and my children were somewhat anxious about my mid-life move feeling it was sudden, misguided and burning all my bridges. The only true support I had amazingly was from my ex-husband. He smiled, gave me a huge hug and said – it was always OUR dream to retire to the coast. So I am truly happy for you – and with a wink – just a teensy bit jealous.
Preparing for the move was an anxious time. It is hard enough to move a whole family but doing it all on your own is quite a challenge. After nine years in my house, I had no idea how much stuff I had accumulated. And yes, most of it was clothes, shoes and bags. Now I am a ruthless soul and have a de-clutter twice a year in Spring and Autumn. But even so, I think four bin bags eventually made it to the charity shops.
Anyway – it was actually so much easier than I had feared, and by the end of the weekend, with the help of my dear BFF (best female friend), we were fairly straight with only 3 or 4 boxes left. And these contained winter/Christmas items, which soon made their way to the attic.
I am loving life here – it was a good decision, and I feel rejuvenated!! I visit the beach every day; I have a new bicycle which I love. I swim most mornings with a fabulous group of women who inspire and uplift me. Many are nurses, and they tell me it literally helped keep their sanity during the lockdown.
At the end of every day, regardless of whether I have worked or not, it is time for my 6 pm walk with my dog, and we both already know many owners and their dogs! Now that the evenings are warm and bright, I can just sit and watch the waves and count my lucky stars that this is all on my doorstep.
If you want to read some of Sassy’s previous stories, click HERE.