Nomad Online

He’s back! After a three month stint in Doha, my husband is finally here with us!

My son and I were there at the airport. We watched people come out of the gates and waited for that familiar white hair and glasses.

“Shall we get him some flowers and a balloon?” I asked my son.

“No. We should just give him a big hug,” he answered.

So we did.

Now we only have about five weeks to go before we head off to London. There are things to think about. Lists to make. And things to cross off those lists.

It is a busy time.

Last week I discovered storage was eye-wateringly expensive.

“For that price, it will be better to sell all your possessions and buy new ones when you get back!” remarked my Singaporean friend who googled the prices for me.

We were sitting outside at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre with another friend, waiting for our rapidly growing boys to finish swimming. The sun was out. The company was great. And I was going to miss them.

“I would go to London in a heartbeat,” my googling friend said.

Yes. I am excited about the move. I am. I’ve visited London before. It is a remarkable city with loads of things to see and do. But before I get there, I need to say goodbye to people, places and things.

I am going to miss them all.

I am going to miss travelling 15 minutes down the road to grab both sushi and kimbap.

40 minutes or so in the other direction is Haberfield, where I can indulge in delicious Italian ricotta cakes at Papa’s. Further out west in Blacktown, I was introduced to amazing Ethiopian fare by a group of people wanting to support others who had fled persecution and conflict living in Western Sydney.

We really do have the best of the world at our door step.

I hear London does too. But I don’t know and love her yet. Not like I know and have come to love Sydney.

Look, isn’t her harbour pretty?

I’ve lived here twenty years and I never tire of those white sails. That bridge and Opera House means I’m almost home.

There’s a local park across the road from our home I will miss very much. I’m sure there are loads of parks in London. But I wonder if it would be the same. Ours was small. But it was special. My son grew up playing on its swings and digging in its sand pit.

I will miss things and people slowly changing. I will miss the kids I teach at Sunday school grow that little bit bigger. I will miss the youths at youth group grow that little bit taller, their voice a little deeper. And I am going to miss all the kind people at our church.

I am going to miss chatting to my parents as I commute from work. I am going to miss my husband’s family and the long drive down to Melbourne in time for Christmas. I am going to miss all the remarkable people I’ve met during my 16 years working for an NGO.

The list of things, places and people I’ll miss is a long one. And there is nothing on that list I would like to cross off.

I’ll stop it here because it’s making me feel a little sad.