From one season to another

Balloons from the balcony in Spring

 

The time has come to say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!  The two weeks since we returned from Italy have been crazy, sorting things out, trying to sell our furniture, our car, moving out, cleaning the apartment, tying up all the loose ends.

Amelia and Noah had their last day at Kindergarten on Friday.  They had a little leaving party and I became quite emotional saying goodbye to all of her teachers and the other staff.  We are also madly trying to have last minute catch ups with friends.  We have met such lovely people here, all of whom have been so helpful and supportive along the way and some special lifelong friendships have been made.

The decision to return to Perth was not an easy one, and we mulled over it, on again off again, for months.  There are many little reasons that contributed to the decision we made in the end, but the biggest one is family, and the fact that Amelia has struggled so much with communication and making friends which was heartbreaking at times.  Now we are looking forward to going, we still have moments where we look around and think how can we leave a place as beautiful as this, but life is life wherever you live.  A friend of mine who writes fantastic emails like short stories recently told me that she and her family have also been very busy, only in a more mundane kind of way.  What I can say is that it doesn’t matter where you live in the world, the mundane follows!  Noah is still toilet training and weeing on the carpet and pooing in his pants!  Food shopping and meal planning still needs to be done, as does cleaning the toilet and bathroom (ugh..worst job in the world!).  You still worry about money, and stress when your kids are sick.  All of these things still go on, even if you live in Barbados, or on a Greek Island, or in the Austrian Alps!  You just have a different view from your kitchen window while you’re washing the dishes.  And the only important thing is that you wake each day and be grateful for it, be grateful for your health, and for your family and friends.  So no matter how mundane you think your life is, everybody elses, deep down, is just the same.  I’d like to include a famous (??) quote from a great man called Maciek – “The grass might be greener over here, but the amount of shit that needs to be piled onto it really stinks!”  True in every sense!

 

River paddling in Summer

We will miss the lush green meadows, the mountain air and delicious perfect temperature tap water; the clear rivers and babbling brooks and waterfalls; hiking through the woods and all the cool outdoor sports on the doorstep; all the things in the sky we can see from our balcony like the light planes and rescue helicopters, hot air balloons, and paragliders, the clouds whispering past the forest in the distance; the green ‘bubble’ at Steinplatte and one euro icecreams in town.   We will also miss the lack of traffic and graffiti; the cleanliness; the quietness; the wildlife and the changing seasons; the simplicity of just being, watching the cows chew away at the grass below or the eagles hovering above; not having to lock the door or worry about the kids wandering around the supermarket alone; the limited choice in the shops which started out as a negative but now feels like it’s just enough. 

 

 

Kicking up leaves in Autumn

We will definitely NOT miss the overwhelming stench of cow poo at certain times of the year!  Neither will we miss having to translate every document, and every bit of correspondence.  We are looking forward to familiarity, being able to understand everything and everyone, watching telly and watching the kids play happily with their cousins and friends.  And we are looking forward to babysitters, going out to dinner and having some time off! (brace yourselves, there’s almost a year and a half worth to make up for!)

 

This has been a fantastic experience, and even with all the difficult and stressful times, we have no regrets, only gratefulness at having had the opportunity to do it.

 

Christmas in the snow

These mornings are misty and cold, snow has fallen at the tip of Noah’s ‘Hot Chocolate Mountain’, and the trees are already beginning to turn to shades of Autumn, but as the leaves gently fall on the final days of this journey, we return home to the Spring and the beginning of a new one.  A fresh start, new perspectives, and new dreams to be dreamt up….