Full of the joys of Spain

You know those people who wake up every morning uttering inane expressions like 'oh what a beautiful day', when all you see are grey skies and pouring rain? I used to have a friend like that and had prozac been invented at the time, we would have presumed her to be on a very high dosage - after all, there is probably only a few days a year that this saying truly applies.

However, living in Spain and saying the same thing actually means something. Despite being here five years now, I still admire the blue skies, green mountains and sparkling Med, every day thanking my higher conscience for making the decision to move. Friends are always saying 'don't you miss....', but no, I don't. I miss my friends and that's it - nothing else. Why would I? I have a 15 minute drive to work in the morning along the coast road in sunshine and with the sea beside me - as opposed to a 40 minute train journey in the rush hour to Charing X or a long traffic jam on the A2. Although I actually work harder than I did at home, there is plenty of time to enjoy life and if the work doesn't get done, I adhere easily to the typical 'Manana Manana' syndrome - there's always tomorrow. I know only one person who is stressed, whereas in the UK everybody I knew was stressed over something.

I have my problems - who doesn't, but its either the kids or the bank balance that worry me, not if I'm wearing designer clothes, if my make is perfect, whether I can afford a holiday, whether I'm late for work, where I'm going to find time to go shopping, if I'm going to be the victim of a teenage gang attack as one of my friends has been recently, etc. etc.

All in all, a fantastic climate really does make a difference to your whole life - and yes, I wake up every morning thinking 'oh what a beautiful day'.