Leaving home at 17 and moving to another country alone taught me a lot.
First of all the friendships, or should I write the ‘friendships’? It’s when you are away that you start to understand who is genuinely there for you and cares about you. Nowadays I can say I have just a few real friends, and as cheesy as this may sound, my mum is definitely one of them.
When coming to the UK, I was not sure if this would weaken our relationship as she was devastated, but instead, it just bonded us even more.
We often forget our parents will not be around forever and take them from granted. I’m writing this blog post mainly to remind everyone that as we spend time with our friends or partner, it is also important to spend time with those who are there for us no matter what, who took care of us and helped us grow. Of course, it does not necessarily have to be your mum or dad.
At Easter, besides going to Valencia I also went back home: Lisbon. The weather was amazing and so my mum and I decided, at the last minute, to book a hotel room for the weekend, just the two of us.
I’m very fortunate to have an amazing relationship with my mum who is very open-minded and definitely has a young spirit, so we just talk and drink together.
The hotel was €70 per night – at first it did seem a bit overpriced but we definitely changed our minds once we arrived. It was in front of the beach, with a balcony overlooking the sea from our room, pool, spa and sauna, great food and very friendly staff.
Both days we just relaxed. On Saturday we were on the beach during the day, and at night we decided to explore the village and have a typical Portuguese dish. On Sunday, of course we woke up earlier to enjoy the bottomless breakfast that was included in the price. After breakfast, we had a lovely walk by the sea and ended up spending the rest of the day at the pool of the hotel.
Whether you decide to go with your mum, guardian, friend or even alone, it is definitely important to take some days off from work, the routine and also social media and just relax and take care of yourself. After all, the important things in life are the memories we create with those we love, the experiences we live and not the material stuff.
Beijinho
Maria