Back to the Motherland

3 days until we board the Heathrow Express and on our way to Home. It's always a mixture of excitement and apprehension with these trips across the world. Will I be welcomed home? Will it still be the same Australia that I love? Am I going to get homesick with the thought of having to leave again so soon?

We'll be making a short stop in Sydney for a wedding. It seems like (and is) years since we left. I feel a certain sadness at returning because so many of my friends have since moved away. I only have a handful of people I need to catch up with. And there's a sadness about having moved from such a beautiful city. I remember the feeling, quite well, of exhilaration every morning I walked over Pyrmont Bridge, across the harbour and through the city bathed in morning sunlight. And the intense blue skies. I felt that amazement everyday; Being overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding me. I haven't felt that since leaving.

And Brisbane, my childhood hometown. I love her more each time I return. Watching her grow and slowly come of age. My family and friends close by. I'd love to resettle in Brisbane. Of course, it's not quite a possibility with Thabo's work. And I do feel guilty that I can't be closer to my parents. Dread comes over me if I dwell on it too long. It must be a sensation familiar to every 30-something year old - ageing parents and the sick feeling that time is running out to get to know them more, to continue to share your life with them. It's hard to do living across the world from them. I hope that there is plenty of time ahead.