Bound for Bloomsbury

This time tomorrow night, The Heiress and I will be winging our way to Heathrow.  She is beyond excited to immerse herself if her studies, meet some new friends and make the leap to self-sufficiency with her parents far, far away.  R has never let an opportunity pass at the dinner table to joke that as soon as The Heiress packs up we're redecorating her room, having a pool put in, buying a really fun car and who knows, perhaps even buy that ice-cream maker we've been talking about.  Her response is always the same..."Uh, hello, I'm right here!"  Joking about her not being around is how we keep things light and let her know we will be just fine when she strikes out on her own.

We've never been clingy parents.  You know, the sort who soaks a box of tissues when their child attends their first day of kindergarten or goes on a bus to overnight camp.  Even tonight, R asked me if I would be stopping in to see The Heiress after my week in London and before heading back to Canada.  A glance at my bulging itinerary said it all.  "Uh, hello, I'm right here!" shouted The Heiress before bursting out laughing.  I can't quite remember where I read about young women, some still in their late teens, joining the Red Cross to go overseas as nurses during World War II.  Now that would take some intestinal fortitude on the part of the young women and faith from their parents.  What we will go through as a family during this venture is a walk in the park by comparison.

There are bookshops to visit, shows to see, train rides to take, London Walks to go on, cakes to try and blog friends to meet.  I'm even excited about the gray skies and chance of rain on the day I'm to tour Highgate Cemetery!  How atmospheric can you get?  And Rachel emailed me with the exciting news that the second series of Downton Abbey will begin while I'm in London.  Talk about all your Christmases and birthdays coming at once.

I can't wait to indulge in a Full English breakfast every day, buy just about everything that comes in black current just because I love it, eat roast chicken and stuffing sandwiches from Marks & Spencer Food Hall and try a different flavoured yogurt every single day.  Pet dogs out for their morning walk in Russell Square and try to spot magpies hopping around in the bushes.  And there is a cafe in Bloomsbury that once served me coffee with cream so sweet I didn't have to add sugar, I wonder if it's still there?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, for chicken sandwiches and children, and the next twelve months will go by in no time.  I can hear The Heiress now..."Uh, hello, I'm right here!"