Escape.

A little slice of freedom is the sweetest feeling. I’m on a platform, waiting for my train to London to spend two days reconnecting with old friends, mooching around art galleries, visiting my 90-year-old Nana, swimming, eating cake and drinking coffee. Despite my busy schedule for this whirlwind trip, it’s the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time. An escape from work, studying, parenting, planning, and the long list of domestic chores that never end.

It’s what holidays are about, isn’t it? A break from the everyday. But when you’re with a young family it doesn’t feel like a true break. Yes, you get to escape the household chores for a while, to experience a new setting. But there’s still the planning, the extra packing, the last-minute panicking that comes with all of that. There’s always someone else’s needs to put for ahead of your own. On your own, you can travel light.

I cherish these fleeting moments of escape, as they are few and far between.