This week my little family headed north – 227 miles north, to be exact – to the town where our story all began; Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
In September 2003, long before Adlai was a glint in our eyes, Faith and I met on the back pew of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Scarborough. Pre-baby, the trip took about 4 hours. Post-baby it took us 6, but on the positive side we stopped at all sorts of places, which had previously passed us by.
Many of our friends have moved on but the two who haven’t are the two best: Nick and Anna. Nick writes a brilliant blog documenting his IVF journey(among other things), which is well worth a read… And as it did in my third year of university, their home played host to our adventures.
North Yorkshire was even more beautiful than I remembered. We walked for hours along the cliffs and introduced Adlai to our student digs. The house I lived in is looking worse than ever… I’m not sure how much longer that place will be standing. We pushed Adlai down (and up again) the steep roads that lead to the magical Robin Hood’s bay and we drove accross the Yorkshire Dales as our son napped in the back seat.
It was a bit surreal walking the streets we walked before we were married, and before Adlai was with us. We tried to remember what it was like when we were 21 and just getting to know each other. We walked by pubs where we used to meet for drinks and listen to live music, and we took a family photo on the bench where we sat when I first told Faith I liked her.
Eight years on, and things have certainly changed. We couldn’t have imagined it, but it has all definitely been for the better.
