If you’ve been checking in and hoping for an update, a new story, a recipe perhaps, maybe a little window into what’s going on… I can imagine you’ve been pretty disappointed with me.
I never meant to abandon you, I didn’t even plan to take a break.
I was so busy trying to keep my head above water that I didn’t much feel like writing or sharing. I never wanted my blog to become a duty, something I felt pressured to keep up with, so I just took some time and let things mellow for a while.
A lot has happened in the last few months, but I’ll stick to the most pressing matter… we’ve moved to the other side of the world. In fact it feels as though we’ve moved to another planet.
We’re in Australia and the culture shock has been pretty immense. First we went into an intense two week quarantine in a hotel suite, we couldn’t leave or see any other humans for 14 days, so when we were released into the world, a world where there’s no need for social distancing, no masks, no fear, we felt a little shellshocked. Our first night out we sat on a restaurant terrace, surrounded by people chattering, Lily ran around with local kids, taking to it all like a fish to water. A woman from another table came over to chat to us, she bent down to talk to me, her nose inches from mine, placing a warm hand on my bare shoulders, I tried to disguise my shock, her touch felt like electricity after so long in isolation.
We’re here because my husband PJ is producing a movie which is shooting here in Queensland. It’s the incredible story of the Thai cave rescue that saw 12 boys and their coach rescued against all odds, the one that was all over the news the summer I was pregnant. It’s a big production with thousands of people working on it, so PJ has his hands full and to say he’s pretty busy is putting it lightly!
Lily and I spent the first week muddling through trying to find our feet here, and then came the storms. The worst in a hundred years, they say. Floodwaters rising around us, we hunkered down and hoped for the best.
Thankfully we were spared the worst of it, and my fears of a plague of creepy crawlies moving in never came to fruition!
The rain has passed, we are safe and happy in our new home and it feels like a new dawn.
This morning we headed out into the surf to welcome the new start. I feel as though I have a year of thoughts inside me, bursting to get out, but I’ll save my rambling for another time. For now, here are a few simple snaps from this morning’s adventure. A morning I’ll remember forever, not because it marks the start of a new chapter, but because it is the beginning of a whole new book.
