It was so hard to say goodbye to Australia.
So I just said "See ya later" just like all the 'strayans do.
I look back through this blog and think WOW! Did we really do all that and see all that and experience all those incredible things?
We sure did smash it.
High five Hubster!
High five Hubster!
For my amazing husband with whom I've shared this incredible journey, our soulful Radish who got dragged along for the ride only to discover his inner surfer dude and the lovable, lolloping Aussie boy, Kale, who we picked up along the way, I can't love or thank you anymore than I do.
Good times shared, together we lived the dream. It feels like a dream now, seems such a long time ago already.
Good times shared, together we lived the dream. It feels like a dream now, seems such a long time ago already.
Its been 7 weeks since I arrived home with the fur boys. Hubster is still out there tying up all the loose ends and travelling back and forth to see us. Less than ideal.
I would love to say I am wonderfully settled but its not true. There is no chance of that until Hubster is with me again,
Our home wasn't quite as I expected it to be, perhaps 'Ive had rose tinted glasses on but I found it to be somewhat unkempt and in need of some TLC and direction. Perhaps I've just described myself there, as I have been living like a student in our home.
Our furniture and belongings are still mid-ocean and most of the house is bare and echoey. I am managing with a few bits and bobs of rental furniture and home wares but hey who am I kidding, this is not fun.
What has been fun and wonderful is meeting up with all my friends and loved ones once more, being part of village life and especially in Spring time. I have also received such a lot of love, practical help and support from the dearest friends and I wonder if they'll ever know how much I appreciate it. The visit booking system however, is at full throttle and will be for some time yet.
What has been great is that feeling of knowing that I fit in, this is home and for all its quirks and foibles, it is so familiar and that is very comforting. It gives me exactly the confidence I need to go about my day to day with strength and fortitude and as I recall, that was the very thing I noticed I'd lost when I first arrived in Australia.
You don't know how entrenched you are in your own culture until you are removed from it and what a relief it is to have that culture returned to you. A culture comfort blanket so to speak.
That said the adjustment is massive, I knew it would be, I was warned and so I am trying to go with the flow and accept this is normal and the uncertainty of feeling between two worlds will pass. I am fully aware that I have no routine whatsoever and that I am far from settled. Not exactly the time to be making any big decisions.
Radish and Kale have been amazing, they have just accepted all that has been thrown at them with much more grace than I have. I have seen just how deep their trust in me is and I truly value that, just as I value their sofa cuddles every night and their exuberant welcomes every morning. What a godsend they are.
So 7 weeks back into life back home and its a very mixed bag of great and not so great.
I see now that I lived my Australian life in a huge bubble really and as one friend said to me the other day, I'm back in the real world now and all this is just one huge reality check.
Yes I'll second that.
Mrs TJ is no longer Down Under.
With nothing but incredible gratitude and forever grateful for an experience of a life time, I sign off.
A new adventure begins.
I would love to say I am wonderfully settled but its not true. There is no chance of that until Hubster is with me again,
Our home wasn't quite as I expected it to be, perhaps 'Ive had rose tinted glasses on but I found it to be somewhat unkempt and in need of some TLC and direction. Perhaps I've just described myself there, as I have been living like a student in our home.
Our furniture and belongings are still mid-ocean and most of the house is bare and echoey. I am managing with a few bits and bobs of rental furniture and home wares but hey who am I kidding, this is not fun.
What has been fun and wonderful is meeting up with all my friends and loved ones once more, being part of village life and especially in Spring time. I have also received such a lot of love, practical help and support from the dearest friends and I wonder if they'll ever know how much I appreciate it. The visit booking system however, is at full throttle and will be for some time yet.
What has been great is that feeling of knowing that I fit in, this is home and for all its quirks and foibles, it is so familiar and that is very comforting. It gives me exactly the confidence I need to go about my day to day with strength and fortitude and as I recall, that was the very thing I noticed I'd lost when I first arrived in Australia.
You don't know how entrenched you are in your own culture until you are removed from it and what a relief it is to have that culture returned to you. A culture comfort blanket so to speak.
That said the adjustment is massive, I knew it would be, I was warned and so I am trying to go with the flow and accept this is normal and the uncertainty of feeling between two worlds will pass. I am fully aware that I have no routine whatsoever and that I am far from settled. Not exactly the time to be making any big decisions.
Radish and Kale have been amazing, they have just accepted all that has been thrown at them with much more grace than I have. I have seen just how deep their trust in me is and I truly value that, just as I value their sofa cuddles every night and their exuberant welcomes every morning. What a godsend they are.
So 7 weeks back into life back home and its a very mixed bag of great and not so great.
I see now that I lived my Australian life in a huge bubble really and as one friend said to me the other day, I'm back in the real world now and all this is just one huge reality check.
Yes I'll second that.
Mrs TJ is no longer Down Under.
With nothing but incredible gratitude and forever grateful for an experience of a life time, I sign off.
A new adventure begins.
