Dorothy Cottrell

I came to Spain seven years ago. It was like a half-way house. After so many years living abroad, this was still being abroad but not working. My task was to look after my two grandchildren while their parents were at work. What fun we had when we were together. There were weeks when I would take each of the kids to their after-school activities on four of the five days. (I have to say that my Spanish has not reached a high level because I seem to spend most of my days speaking in English.) It seemed to happen all at once – the kids suddenly grew up. They both want to be with their friends, not their grandma, which I totally understand and am happy about. Santi goes to guitar lessons and he decided he wanted to walk there on his own. Adri’s Art classes are on Saturdays. I wasn’t needed to take them to activities any more. My thoughts kept drifting to Scotland. I have to be there each December/January to help my son and his business partner with their Christmas orders. I also thought how much I missed tutoring Maths but my Spanish is not up to doing that here. I do enjoy helping Adri but Santi is good at Maths and needs no help. I thought of all the opportunities there are in Scotland to do charity work. I made up my mind. I would arrange to sell my property in Scotland and buy somewhere in Glasgow. Of course, nothing is easy these days. As December got closer, we decided it would be best for me to rent a flat in Glasgow until everything was sorted out. That was not easy either as so many people seem to be looking for places to rent these days. Then, there it was, the perfect flat. Thanks to my son and his wife viewing flats for me, they found one that I can move into at the end of November. Of course, it will be very sad to leave family and good friends here in Spain but I will always be able to come back for holidays.