Reflecting on a year gone by (Part 2)

Mum and Dad arrived on the 31st March, and on the way to the airport it occurred to me that it was exactly a year since we had left the UK, and therefore exactly a year since I had seen my mum. This was the longest period not to have seen her since the first time I visited Australia in 87/88.

But what a difference 20 years makes. Whereas on my previous visit, contact was sporadic and snail mail (unless I collected together enough money to phone), this time around we have been almost constantly in communication. I knew within minutes when there had been an earthquake in the UK, receiving both a text from my sister in law and an email from Mum. Something of note happens to the family, and we get an instant text. My nephew has a good day at school, and we receive all the photos. And I have seen mum showing me her new clothes on the webcam, and darting down the landing wrapped in a towel straight from the shower. We have seen our nieces and nephews on the webcam, shared all our news with both sets of parents, and kept in contact with our friends. Australia seems to have moved closer to home since 1988.

What of this last year though?

I think for me, it has been about learning some lessons. The most irritating one has been that it is indeed better for us as a family if Andrew and I are not both on some enormous career trajectory all the time. The best one has been learning that it's ok to be me - along with all my flaws. It seems I am the only person who ever thought I needed to be perfect. I've learnt that my children are resilient and that challenges can help them grow as people. I've learnt that throwing all your security up in the air and waiting to see how it lands can be scary, but can also deliver great rewards if you are willing to take the risk. And I've learnt that after 18 years, having an adventure with your partner can bring back a closeness you feared you had lost.

Some people might think that it takes a strong person to emigrate. But we had already learnt that we were stronger than we had ever suspected.

If someone had said to me two years ago, that I'd be sitting in my rumpus room on the Northern Beaches, having not worked for a year and enjoying it - I'd have said they were mad. I had a five to ten year plan for world domination, which did not include lounging about on the eastern coast of Australia. So my final lesson would be that John Lennon truly was a wise man when he said 'life is what happens when you are busy making plans'.....