Of Nothing and Everything (And Change)
There are certain weeks that pass you by in life where nothing seems to happen, and yet everything does.
This was one of those weeks.
I really have almost nothing to report from my seemingly very busy time except for a trip to IKEA (which naturally entailed many hours of exciting IKEA-assembly), lots of time cleaning/sorting (which always seems to create more cleaning/sorting as you realize all the cleaning/sorting that you’ve been procrastinating over since last time you did said task, and then decide you really must tackle that too), walking the dog, feeding the dog, petting the dog, having philosophical discussions with the dog (at least 50% of my day goes here), a few local committee meetings and more prep-work for my big trip away to UK week.
Basically I’ve been incredibly busy, but can’t really explain exactly how that happened.
In the world at large of course lots has happened. Fire and smoke in the West of the USA, Sept heat records continuing to be broken (both here and abroad), stories of a massive “doomsday” glacier in the Antarctic that is “hanging on by its fingertips”, and the death of the longest-serving sovereign in British history. Somehow it all feels rather apocalyptic, or perhaps it’s just the end of things that once seemed so stable which make me more aware of the fragility of life and the world.
Deep stuff I know especially for a week where nothing essentially happened, but such is my mood. A week of nothing, a week of everything and all the thoughts on change that happen along the way.
The Big Change
The biggest news story this week was undoubtedly the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and all the changes that will entail.
Whatever you may think of the Monarchy (and opinions are heavily divided, I know) there’s no question the longest-serving reign of modern times, and by a woman no less, is something to reflect upon. The Queen was the figurehead of the UK from 1952 through 2022, an incredibly long life of service, the entire lifetime of 80% of British alive today. The loss of that anchor of stability, a rarity in our modern day, is of profound impact to many. I feel and understand the sorrow.
And now Charles, at the ripe age of 73 finally steps into the one job he was born for. Imagine that…
For me personally I’m fascinated by all the history and procedures that have now been set in motion. The 10-day schedule of events to get the Queen’s body from Scotland to Westminster Abbey is meticulous, not to mention the declarations, proclamations, processions and the crowning itself of the new King. Much of the tradition and wordage dates back hundreds of years and very few people alive have ever seen or heard it before.
Then there’s all the money. There are 4.5 billion (!!) sterling bank notes in circulation with the Queen’s likeness on them, all of which now need to be changed out. Not to mention royal warrants, royal arms, stamps and goodness-knows what else that must all be altered for the new King. The French have no love of monarchies (the history here is crystal clear), but the bureaucratic process about to launch in the UK is bound to inspire some love and respect.
Finally of course there are the 56 countries of the Commonwealth, particularly the 14 who held the Queen as their head of State that will now have a decision to make. Will Australia and New Zealand become republics (as Barbados did in 2021, and Jamaica has already begun to do)? What about Canada? Is it time for this link to history (some of which is very dark) to go? I am very curious to see what direction this will take.
Either way, the Queens death has turned the wheels of time in the UK to a new era, with many more changes undoubtedly to come. May she travel home well.
The One Constant
In a world that’s constantly seems to be changing, perhaps it’s fitting that the one constant I’ve had in my life has been IKEA.
I once made a joke that walking into the maze of IKEA made me so crazy I felt like running around screaming with my pants on my head. And yet, I always come back. There’s something ultimately soothing about the Swedish perfection of clean, crisp lines not to mention a multifunctional shoe-holder-wine-rack-hidden-closet that can fit into the inch-wide space between your washing machine and your dryer. Genius! Somehow I always exit IKEA with way more than I had in mind when I entered the place, and (surprisingly) I remain pretty happy with the purchases afterwards.
In France the IKEA stores are exactly what you’d expect except they also offer a EUR 1 breakfast which consists of a mini-croissant, a mini-chocolatine, a glass of orange juice and a coffee. It’s ridiculously good value and must be a solid money-loser for them, but it’s a simple gesture that makes all their customers happy to go and spend bucket-loads in the store afterwards.
A darn good marketing strategy, I say.
Dad and I went on Wednesday morning with several hundred other aspiring French IKEA lovers, nabbed the EUR 1 breakfast and picked up several things we needed and several we didn’t. We even went back several days later for the stuff-we-really-needed-but-wasn’t-in-stock, thus bringing home a respectable number of boxes which occupied my entire next day happily with assembly (crazily enough I DO actually really, truly love putting together IKEA stuff).
I dunno, perhaps the apocalypse will happen one day but somehow I imagine a blue-and-yellow box store will spring out of the ashes, we’ll all be drawn like flies to the new IKEA and they will have a perfectly-sized 25m2 survival apartment to lead the way. Cockroaches and IKEA….surely they’ll both survive?
The Constant Change
On the topic of change, when I was around 9 I met I Buddhist Monk.
I wasn’t feeling good that day. We had just moved countries in Asia, and as a pudgy kid I was getting teased relentlessly about my weight in my new school. I envisioned my entire future (because of course at that age, your day is your entire life) as a bleak and friendless desert with no chance of anything good ever happening ever again. Yes, even at 9 I was prone to profundity and depression.
“Why can’t things go back to the way they were before?” I asked the monk
“Change is the way of the world, my child” he answered “but that is also a comforting thing to know”
“Why?” (this was a common question for me, back in the day…..and kinda still is)
“Nothing in life is constant, except change. Once you understand that and accept that, you will be free of pain and worry”
My mom (who was with me at the time) didn’t like that answer at all and let out one of her very-not-subtle “phhhhs“, but the monk continued to smile patiently while my little pre-teen brain-cogs churned furiously on his response. Suddenly my friendless-and-dark-desert brain lit up as I was hit with a minor spark of inspiration.
“I get it, I get it!” I squealed “change is awesome”
And off I went humming, because although today had been awful I now knew with absolute certainly that tomorrow could be different. In fact, EVERY day was going to be different and wouldn’t that just be so much fun? All of life’s possibilities lay ahead. Change is the best!
Now I’m a smidgen older, well past my mom’s age at that time, and although I wish I was as carefree and excited about change as I was when I was 9 I have to admit that I’ve become rather attached to life as it is. Perhaps it’s the curse of all of us as we age that we become more sentimental about the people and things we have in our lives, and thus more devastated when we lose them….which only proves the monk was right, after all.
Maybe one day, I’ll get it again….
My Next Change
It’s another dare-I-say-it scorcher of a day today, another Sept record-breaker, but that’s about to change as I get on the road to the UK to cooler (and perhaps much rainier) days next week.
It’s going to be an interesting time to be back to the UK particularly since it’s the week of the Queens mourning, but I’m also looking forward to the trip immensely. My first day will be an insane day (~9 hours!) of driving, then a ferry across, then my University reunion and finally a bunch of shorter sightseeing trips in country. In my unusual manner of “I like to plan ahead like a military general, but travel like a carefree hippy” I’ve already written-up a detailed packing list, but have zero bookings (and only a vague itinerary) past my reunion date. It’s going to be awesome!
In this particular case it’s a change of pace which I really will enjoy. Friends, new roads and a few pints along the way.
See Mr Monk I’m half-way there. I believe some change is always good…
As for the blog itself I’ll just see how it goes. If you don’t hear from me soon, know that I’ll be back again in two short weeks with lots of new stories to share. And in the meantime I hope that any change that comes your way is the kind of change that’s good and will set your little 9-year-old heart afire with excitement and love. Now how’s that for profundity, eh?
So my dear readers two last questions before I travel. How do you feel about the Queen’s passing? What are my Canadian readers thinking? Do you care or not care? Passionate or indifferent? I’m so curious how everyone is processing it. And what of your thoughts on change? Do you agree with what Mr Monk said? DO comment and share below.
“The French have no love of monarchies (the history here is crystal clear), but the bureaucratic process about to launch in the UK is bound to inspire some love and respect.”
Now that, right there, is funny!
Canadian here. And I do realise that there are some of my fellow citizens who would be quite happy to go the way of a Republic, and I always thought that I didn’t care one way or the other.
However, when I heard of her passing, I do confess that I felt just the slightest twinge of sadness. She’s been “our Queen” for my entire lifetime, and longer, so losing her is a rather curious sensation.
We’ll carry on, as one does as part of The Commonwealth. And, as far as an example of a Republic? Let’s not go there.
Enjoy your trip.
It has been a curious sensation. I grew up in Hong Kong where she was Queen (at the time) so she was a part of my childhood too. I did feel somber when she passed.
Nina
I love IKEA! When we sold our motorhome and moved into an apartment we bought all our furnishings from IKEA and had them delivered on one day. Easiest move ever! Except for spending two days assembling it all. 🙂
I agree that Queen Elizabeth provided stability in a time of many changes. I do not know what Charles will do but I am glad Queen Elizabeth encouraged Camilla to be there to advise him. At age 75 myself, I cannot imagine taking on his new responsibilities at age 73.
I’m sad at the passing of a public figure that has had a hugh place in the world (positive and negative). Change is good for me. As a full time RVer, each day is an adventure and if plans A-Z don’t work out as expected, what ever does come about is just a new time in our lives. Enjoy your free rangeing trip to the UK.
I agree fully on the travel and change statement. I do like my life today, but I love the changing adventures of travel.
Nina
Nina, iujuuuu…where are you ?
Been in Wales on a road trip. Coming back today :))
Nina
Another Canadian here. First, I love those Ikea meatballs. Definitely a must go to Ikea for me. Oh and all that kitchen stuff …too
Personally, I’ve never thought about it but our future generations might dump the Monarchy. All the pomp, ceremonies, positions, buildings, security just to name a few, cost a lot of money. But would another system save us any money? Yes and no, somewhere the government is going to spend in on something else and taxpayers won’t see a dime. Canada’s population is becoming more diverse too. My parents generation of Europeans is dying out. Change is always happening, it is what it is.
cheers
Irene
It is an interesting question and interesting to hear how Canadians feel about it. I do think future generations will eventually want to move on.
Nina
As a U. S. citizen in have “no dog in this fight” as the saying goes. But I can say that, regardless of the less-than-upstanding things that her ancestors did, I have tremendous respect for Elizabeth the woman and monarch. She has always placed her duty as Queen before all else, and has walked that fine line of balancing it and all else with grace, dignity, and equanimity; all while retaining her love of life, country, the simple pleasures of her dogs & horses, and her marvelous sense of humor. We’ve lost an incredible woman IMHO.
Charles, however, is a different story if you ask me. But nobody did haha!
I also have respect for her as a woman and the steadfast duty she performed as Queen. Imagine working as she did into her 90’s. Incredible! The UK Monarchy itself and what happens now is a different question (much more complicated).
Nina
I have dual citizenship, having been born in Canada, gone to school there (French, no less) and now have lived in US for 34 years.
Lots of respect for any person who devotes 70 years to one career and one life choice.
But the whole concept of monarchies and royalties, has no place for me in today’s world. To think that you are given these titles simply because you are born into it is ludicrous. The amount of money spent on fanfares and pompous events is obscene and vile to me. The land they ‘own’ should belong to the people.
But people love them so who am I to say. It should be the people’s choice, if that’s how they want their tax dollars spent.
However, it has always greatly bothered me when I see a monarch on my Canadian dollars. A monarch butterfly maybe.
I guess you can tell how I lean…..
Being born into it doesn’t sit well with me either. We are all born into our individual situations, but being born into Royalty is a level of class distinction that I don’t think should exist in todays world.
Nina
Another American with no skin in the game! I do have to question why on earth they must replace all of the circulating money since the death of the Queen. It makes no sense to me why they do that.
I am in total agreement with Linda about the cost of the monarchy. This morning I saw a headline stating the Charles will not pay death duties on his mother’s estate, which strikes me as exceedingly unfair.
I do find it incredible that all the circulating money must be replaced. Surely this something that could be changed quite easily….just print new money with the new King and leave the old notes circulating as they are? I know it’s the tradition, but it seems like this is one that could be altered to save some significant costs.
Nina
As a Brit, I’d like Charles to hand over to William (and Kate) as soon as possible! There is a respect for the Queen and what she stood for, but already it seems like ancient history. The West desperately needs to look to the future and stop revelling in – or being ashamed of – our past “glories”. There’s a lot of talk about the values that the Queen stood for, which is fair enough, but what values are we going to stand for in future? I see no leadership in the West anywhere, and have zero confidence that Charles is going to provide it, even if only for Britain.
I agree that the younger generation (William and Kate) would have a much better chance of maintaining the Royalty in the UK, hopefully by modernizing its image and perhaps shaving down its size? This is the path they’re taking in Denmark with the Royalty and I think it’s the only one that makes sense. We’ll have to see how Charles does.
Nina
Change often brings with it a certain amount of grief. It marks the end of what was, for sure. But it also marks the end of what could have been. If you get a new job, you have to leave an old job that had people you loved, processes you understood, a routine you grew comfortable with and, yes, people that were disagreeable but now you can never fix that because you are gone. We don’t like uncertainty. And with change, uncertainty is all around. What we do is affected. Our day is affected. How we interact with family is affected. Our sense of security is affected. All that stirs the pot of emotions. BUT! On the other side of things is Dr. Seuss: “Oh, the places we will go!” If our fears stick us too tightly to the past, grief will grow and grow. But if we look at our past travails we surmounted and accomplishments we produced as stepping stones to greater heights, we move through grief like a hot knife through butter! Yes, we still grieve. But grief is a mark of successful loving and a process of breaking free from loss and pain so we can love again. I think that’s the part you picked up on in your blog. I don’t miss Elizabeth because I didn’t have a relationship with her. But we all do enjoy a bit of drama that isn’t in our own family now don’t we?!
Well said, JimE.
Nina