Coming Home

When we moved our family back to North America last August I nearly came unglued.  There was so much to do; things to sell, things to pack, things to throw out, things to sort through, accounts to close, people to say goodbye to, movers to schedule, documents to collect.  The list seemed endless, and much of it couldn't be done until about a week before we left.  I remember our final day well.  The movers had already come to pack up our things.  I had arranged to sell our fridge, our bed, our washing machine, and our sofa and have them all picked up the morning of our departure so that we could use them until we left.  Some friends from church came to help haul a few more things to Good Sammy's and then it was time to finish packing up the suitcases and clean the apartment.  I sent Spencer off with the boys and then I cleaned.  Just thinking of that day now gives me a feeling of anxiety.  Night had long fallen by the time I had reduced our little home to an echoing shell with an army of suitcases lined up along the wall near the door.  I took one last look into all of the rooms and thought of how little the boys were when we had first moved in and how much they had grown.  I probably would have shed a couple of tears if I hadn't still had a lot to do before stepping onto an airplane.

Now as we have settled into our new life back here in North America it is bitter-sweet to think back on all of the people and places we left behind.  Eliot's teacher, Miss Taylor (pronounced Tay-lah, as Eliot was wont to remind us) made a huge impact on him.  He loved going to school and learning about the world that was growing larger in his mind every day.

Our next door neighbor, Ju-ee was a wonderful friend to the boys and myself.  She was a delightful neighbor and stepped in to help out right to the very end.

There were so many others who welcomed us into their lives and helped make Australia feel like home.

Peter found a place to get away from the business of packing.

As the movers packed our things up Peter was happy to sit and watch "Bananas in Pajamas" and munch on a Vegemite sandwich.  At this point he had spent more of his life in Australia than in any other place.

While running some last-minute errands we came across these tires used on the monster machines up at the mines.  The boys were pretty impressed.

The feeling of anxiety finally started to lift as our over-weight luggage slipped off to the bowels of the airplane with naught but a wink and a smile from the attendant (Spencer's frequent flyer status was paying off) and we were officially on our way.  There was a short moment of panic when the attendant handed back a Build-a-Bear passport that had somehow made it in with ours.  I had sudden visions of one of us being delayed while a mad race was made to find the missing passport among our  shipped goods.  Fortunately all four passports were there and off we went.

These past few years have been a wonderful adventure.  We're ready to face the next one together.