My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
December 2022
After a couple of days in London running errands and meeting Georgie’s London friends, Georgie and I took the two-hour train to Devon and her mum picked us up at the station. Georgie’s longtime friend, Olivia, caught the same train (and a ride into town) and as I gazed at the countryside she filled in Georgie’s mum with her latest adventures in the Dominican republic, Columbia and Mexico (which involved a broken hand and a lost passport) as we drove another 45 minutes to Barnstaple.
Our first stop was ‘the Studio’ – owned by Georgie’s sister, Lauren, and her Italian husband. The studio, which offers personal training, various kinds of massage, yoga and other healthy devices, is also home to a vegan cafe. If you know me well, you know that this stuff is my jam! As we sat in the cafe, we were satiated with drinks and lunch as family and friends came and went. I met Georgie’s oldest sister, Ann -Marie, her children, and Georgie’s youngest brother, Charlie.
Before we knew it, we were hungry again so we went around the corner to Georgie’s favorite pub. In addition to the regular menu, they had a festive menu for Christmas.
I was thrilled. Who puts these foods together? I ordered it, and it was up there with some of the best nachos I’d ever had. Who knew that stuffing and cranberry sauce would taste so good with guacamole and salsa? My mind and taste buds were blown. For the rest of the trip, I ordered every festive option I could find – festive pizza, festive breakfast sandwiches, festive loaded fries- it turns out everything tastes better with stuffing, cranberry sauce and brie.
Georgie made sure that I had the most thorough Barnstable experience possible. As we walked through the quaint town that not only had unique local businesses, but also the bigger chain stores that make me feel less isolated, I remembered a conversation we’d had in Tasmania. Georgie had asked Bri and I if the mini malls and flat single story buildings were like the buildings in the US- she was in unfamiliar territory. Now I could see where this question had come from – there were no mini malls in sight! I marveled at how Georgie had grown up in a place that reminded me of a storybook.
We went to visit the pubs where Georgie had worked. One was a really nice hotel right on the water.
The other one, across the water, had a beautiful rooftop patio.
I enjoyed watching Georgie connect with old friends.
One night we went clubbing- the Wetherspoons Free House, with its no-nonsense atmosphere and low prices, after 9pm they turned the lights down and the music up.
After ‘Spoons’ we went to a fancy cocktail lounge and a place with a cold rooftop. When we landed at a big club with loud house music, I folded. I walked home with Georgie’s sister and Georgie followed later. I think I’ve been too old for clubs since before I was old enough to get into them, but the music they played took me right back to my college years.
In order to have room for the whole family, it had been decided that we would spend Christmas at the studio. The furniture was rearranged so we could watch movies projected onto the wall, the yoga studio was transformed into a Christmas Grotto sleeping area, the gym served as an extra fridge (we closed the door and didn’t put any heaters in there), and Georgie’s sisters prepared two whole Christmas feasts using a variety of air fryers. Lauren is vegan so the feast consisted of so many vegetables (which my body totally appreciated), plus both vegan and non vegan options.
Because Georgie’s mum ended up having to work on Christmas day and her dad wasn’t coming into town until the next day, Christmas was spent just the kids (Georgie’s older sisters are my age) and then Boxing Day was spent with the whole family.
Georgie got a really bad earache and had to spend most of the time sleeping and trying to survive the pain. Her whole family made me feel so welcome. We played games, I was surprised with gifts, the drinks flowed and the movies streamed.
Over the course of the week I had a front row seat to a dynamic family drama that wasn’t my own. I loved hearing all of the perspectives of each family member as they grappled with their reaction to Georgie’s gender transition as well as her perpetual absence. Seeing the huge amounts of love combined with unintentional offenses in someone else’s family made me see the same things in my own family in a different way.
I am so grateful to Georgie’s family for making me feel so included in their family and their holiday. I also appreciated getting to see where Georgie came from. My ship friends come from all over the world and I only get to know their transient, current ‘ship-selves.’ I loved getting to see a much wider perspective of Georgie’s life and a much more personal tour of a place I hadn’t been to before.