I’m popping in to give a quick update. Not my usual kind of post, but I am time poor and adventure rich. Let me attempt to recap how we ended up right here, right now.
A month or so back I wrote about my longing for home. It was intense, melancholic, urgent. I had reached a mysterious indefinable limit. I didn’t realise it then, but I was so close to finding answers. And yet they weren’t the answers I was expecting.
So there I was, on the brink of moving interstate, when an epiphany struck and steered me gently in a completely different direction.
And what did I find? Home was right here all along. With a sweet little twist.
The epiphany started when I finally found a school for my daughter (who starts school next year). It’s right here around the corner from where we live. And when I imagined how happy she might be there, I imagined also how I wanted to stick around for awhile. And suddenly I began to see the good things about the town I live in. Suddenly my list of ‘reasons to leave’ didn’t seem so bad after all. That pesky shopping strip? Why, it’s a quaint little street! That boring old creek? Well, that’s gorgeous parklands! Someone gave me some sparkly positive pills it seems!
And here’s the best bit. The sweet twist. This house? This house with all its niggly faults and crazy climate conditions? It’s getting a well-overdue make-over. I used to think it was beyond hope. That it was best to just walk away and start fresh somewhere else. But this house has a way of holding on to us. Every time we looked at fancy new ones, we’d come home and realise the old house wasn’t so bad after all. It has always had potential. Good land, a lovely garden, close to town… It just needs some love and attention.
So, it’s getting gutted and reshaped. It’s getting pretty new floors and fresh paint. It’s getting a timber deck so we can get out into our garden more. It’s going to shine. The old girl is going to shine.
Isn’t that always the hardest thing to do? Stick around and do the hard work? No quick fixes. No walking away. But isn’t always the most satisfying too?
So in 8 days time the work begins. After 8 years I am finally putting down roots, adding my personal touches to this house like never before. I am choosing the colours, the textures, the shapes and tiniest specks of details. I am both excited and terrified in equal measure.
There will be chaos, I’m sure of it. But I am choosing to see the disruption to our family as an adventure, not an inconvenience. I’ve taken several deep breaths, and I’m feeling surprisingly calm before this storm.
In the meantime, I better press on. So much to do. I will come back here over the next two months when I can. I am certain there will be stories to tell. Who knows where this will take me?
