Talk about coincidences! | Bob & Sally’s story

Sally and I have been part of the TrustedHousesitters family for several years now. We're both English, and although we now live in Spain our family still reside in England. So when, in early January, we received our usual informative email from TrustedHousesitters detailing a house sit in Chelmsford, where one of our daughters lives, we were immediately interested.

We looked at the listing more closely. The days for the proposed sit were the 18th March to the 5th April 2020. Our daughter in Chelmsford was due to give birth on the 3rd April. Hmm! The listing also happened to mention a ‘small Tesco at the end of the road.’ As my wife, Sally had previously lived in Chelmsford, we knew the area quite well and could only place two such Tesco’s, one being at the end of the road where our daughter lives. Surely not?! It seemed a bit too much of a coincidence…

After deciding we should go, I sent a tentative email to the owners saying we were interested but needed to make plans as we had to arrange flights from Spain. In my short email, I happened to ask about the said Tesco. To our astonishment, a prompt reply came back and, sure enough, the owners not only lived in the same town as our daughter but in the very same street! And the dates they needed matched our daughter’s maternity leave exactly, so we would be able to spend time with her and maybe even still be around for the birth!

So, contact was made and the appropriate introductions and applications sent. Would they accept us? Everything was crossed until we received a delightful request for us to house sit and look after their two cats. 

As we already had a trip planned to the UK in January, we asked if we could meet with the owners. Jaana and Ken were the most welcoming of hosts and we had a good run-through of who, and what, needed to be attended to. We chatted away and still couldn’t believe the coincidence of this opportunity. It looked as though everything was going to fall into place for our visit and Jaana and Ken’s long-haul trip away.

During this time, we started to make some enquiries as to the timings of family births. Sally and her brother were both born before their due dates. Sally’s daughter arrived early too… would our timings be so perfect that our grandchild would be born before we were due to return to Spain? 

However, by the end of January, we had heard of Covid-19 and concerns were raised as to both sets of travel plans. Jaana and Ken’s trip was cancelled first and then our flights were cancelled, and Sally and I were in a strict lockdown in Spain. We couldn’t believe it, no chance of travel and no chance of getting to see our grandchild’s birth. It had all been going so well! After many telephone calls full of tears and emotions, we had to accept these unusual times...

Our granddaughter ended up being born eight days early, which would have given us a whole extra week with her! To this day, we still haven’t been able to see or hold her. However, that aside, the new proud parents have set up technology so we can at least see her through a webcam. She joins us, gurgling away, on regular family Zoom calls.

The family Zoom chats have continued and we so miss our family, but a message from Jaana and Ken recently put a smile on our faces as they were planning another short trip away and asked if we could sit. Sadly, this was too soon for us as our lockdown in Spain had been severe, and we weren’t happy with travelling. Heads hung low, we replied that we couldn’t make it. But then, Jaana and Ken advised that their original, long-haul trip had been rescheduled for later in the year, to which we have agreed would suit us down to the ground! So, after months and months of Zoom calls and phone calls, we have now got a date in the diary for the end of the year. Woohoo! 

In the meantime, Jaana and Ken’s two gorgeous cats are still waiting for us, along with a beautiful, healthy granddaughter – neither of whom will know anything about this dreadful virus!