This is nothing new. It’ll be the third time that I’ve left my children already this year. After all, two of them are adults and the other two are biddable and happy to do what their big sisters tell them. And I have lots of family and friends around in case of disaster. And this time my husband will be here.

Why is this a subject worthy of a blog posting I hear you cry. So you’re going away. Big deal. Let’s get on to something more juicy.

But you don’t know the whole story…

I am going away to Devon. Devon is a a jolly long way from Ilkley. There’ll be no popping back if someone cuts their knee or needs a bedtime story. And here’s the crux of it. The place where I am going to stay has no internet and almost no phone signal. 

I will be entirely cut off!

Now do you see my concern? Just thinking about it in any depth makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There’ll be no cheeky texts, no quick snapchat shots of what I’m up to, no Facebook and definitely no end of the day skyping. There is a landline payphone ‘for emergencies only’.

Those of you who are of a similar vintage to me know that we have spent the greater part of our lives without any of these newfangled modes of communication and have survived to tell the tale. Do you remember when, if you wanted to get hold of someone, you rang a building and hoped that they were in it? Well, it’ll be just like that. 

So why am I so uncomfortable? Having thought about it, I’m not sure I really like the answer. Basically it all boils down to the fact that I am not indispensable. I will be gone for almost a week, incommunicado and life here will continue perfectly happily without me. There will be no checking in on them all to see how their days went or whether they have remembered to do their homework or if they have cleaned their teeth and I don’t suppose they’ll mind. They might miss me a bit but basically their lives will continue without me (surely the lynchpin, the glue that holds it all together??) being there.

I’m not sure I like that feeling which is ironic because I spend a fair chunk of my time dreaming about what I’ll do when they’ve all gone and I am left to my own devices!

Honestly, there’s no pleasing some people…

This is where I’m going so watch this space for more news on what it’s all about.

Imogen.