A TRIP TO SPAIN?

If you've been around here long enough, you'll know that every year the boys get to go away with my parents to Spain. They have a villa out there and it really is a home away from home, but of course, Covid seems to have other plans at this point and with the trip just over a month away, it's really in the balance of whether they'll still get to go or not. It's such a shame because I think we all know the only country that can't seem to get a full grasp on the outbreak is England, so to see travel restrictions being placed on countries with lower cases, but here we are and it's all a little frustrating. Ordinarily it wouldn't be much of an issue as the break is during half term, but because of the quarantine period upon return, it would result in both boys missing five days of school - something that we naturally would want to avoid.




The boys adore going to Spain each year, it's so familiar to them and it's always a little more than just a 'holiday'. They spend some much needed quality time with their grandparents, something they have missed out on a lot this year because of the Coronavirus outbreak. They get to practice their swimming all day long, we always notice huge improvements in their water confidence after they return from a trip to my parents, but they also get to see family in Spain that we unfortunately don't get to see very often. Every single year they are asking 'how many sleeps' till they get to go and this year really has been no different at all, if anything the older the get and the more aware they become, the more intense about visiting, they get. The trip has already been changed once, with it originally planned for May, of course travel just wasn't an option at that point in time and I think naively, none of us assumed the situation with Covid would be getting progressively worse again by October. But, here we are.

I've already whizzed an e-mail off to school, in the hope that if they can provide some work or even just give their 'blessing' as such on the trip, that the boys will still go. As I've mentioned it does fall during half term so technically all should be well, but the quarantine restrictions would see them miss a full five days - during this time I'm hoping returning to home schooling will suffice. It's tough, ordinarily if any trip would impact on the boys education, it would simply be a no, but having gone through so much over the last year with John and I separating, it just seems a little unfair to pull something else away from them that they were expecting within weeks. I hate letting my boys down and this just feels like it would be another ginormous let down.

I think anyone at this point in time would love a getaway, to be able to relax in the sunshine and our little ones have been so resilient through even the toughest times. Although sometimes a curse, it is really a blessing for us that we can understand what is going on, but for them to suddenly be ripped out of school, staying at home and only allowed one trip outside a day - it was a big adjustment. They never complained and I do have to credit them for that, I definitely complained enough for the three of us though so it's fine. We're now also seeing the cases increase again, so who knows when the possibility of getting away will be an option in the future, it's feeling as though travel bans may come into force completely once again. I think I share everyones feeling of dread at the thought of another full lockdown. I'd feel a little less guilty about one if I knew the boys had managed to sneak in a lovely trip away with their grandparents beforehand, that's for sure.