Feeling a bit weepy in our apartment in Auckland (just for one night). So much transition in the last few days. Hard to know that our house has been totally dismantled, and probably passed on, by now, even though it was always going to be this way… Makes it feel like it was never our place, even though we made it home for a while.
It feels surreal that the time has come to return to Australia. A part of me can’t believe that we’ll be there tomorrow, hugs all round at Tullamarine with Mum and Dad. It’s been so long coming, in a way. And yet it’s not like our time in Canada felt long, not when I reflect on it from this end of things. Moments felt long and I felt far away from home sometimes, but in its entirety, it seems like the time went very quickly.
The space on Waiheke Island was very good. Got a bit of the jetlag processed, although we’re all still going to bed early and getting up early. Constant sound of the waves. Lots of travelling around the place on the bus, which the kids loved. And I loved too. Time on the beach. Beautiful, beautiful overland hike, Piper walking all the way and Jasper in our arms. Good to spend time with the kids with little other distractions (of work or projects or social life, etc.). Exploring other towns – usually the cafes! The food! No internet, only now in Auckland. Instead, I deleted around 2.5gb of photos off my computer from 2007. We bought the camera just before Jasper was born in May, so we were a bit trigger happy! Felt great to declutter, even in my digital landscape.
(jetlag!)
(riding the bus)
Been drinking lots of coffee! Flat whites made by someone else for $4 here in NZ, which comes as a shock after being in Canada, but it’s so nice! Makes me feel at home somehow, or closer to home, all this brewed coffee available from everywhere.
The kids travelled very well, on the whole. Jasper really notices the transitions, needs more hugs, but so do I. He had a really crappy night’s sleep the night before we left, which was pretty stressful for us (he fell asleep around 6.30am!). But somehow we managed, got through the six hours at Vancouver Airport (we all crashed out on the nursery floor for an hour and a half, not that we slept, but it was lovely to be in a quiet, dark space). And somehow the interminable night on the aeroplane passed. How can thirteen hours on a plane pass, especially with tired young children? But somehow it did. It went well, but if I never do a long flight with young children again, I shall be very happy. The difference from last time to this, last time when we travelled with Piper, was that neither Gord nor I brought hardly anything for ourselves to do or read, etc., cos the reality is, you don’t get time to read with two kids! A bit of TV watching and that’s it. Felt good to be realistic – we’re getting to be real parents!
(Oneroa beach)
> Spring in the air, sipping coffee outside, picnics on the long grass, appreciating the sun. 
> The legacy of those before us - these poppies, along with the rest of the house and garden...
> Numerous loads of washing on the Hills Hoist! Back to cloth nappies!
