When 4 equals happiness

Our Ibiza adventure has come to an end. Heavy heartedly I wave goodbye to Expat hubby and daughter who are off to Paris before I pack up the flat and head to Madrid the next day to enjoy one last week with Expat boy. Our timing does not quite coincide since he is partying with his friends - making the most of seeing each other before they all travel to different countries to continue their university studies - but we manage to have late lunches together and if I'm lucky we'll enjoy dinner before he hits town.

I consider myself lucky we have managed a three week family vacation. Funny, what seemed totally normal a few years ago has now turned into a luxury. It was normal to book four tickets from one place to another, now a great deal of coordination goes into each get-together with different schedules and various locations. Parents' planning needs to fit in with kids' wishes to spend some holidays with their friends and joining humanitarian programmes. Again, I feel lucky our kids even want to hang out with us... honestly, I would probably give them the Italian-Mamma-guilt-Spiel if they didn't but they don't need to know that ... yet!

So yes, happiness is realising what you have WHILE you have it and I couldn't be happier. It has been a month with family, friends, lots of sunshine, exploring new beaches and enjoying delicious fresh grilled fish accompanied by a steady flow of chilled Terras Gauda, the local Spanish white wine.

It is time to say "hasta luego" but we'll be back soon. Promise!