It’s been a series of lasts this past month or so…some happy, some sad, but all part of preparing for our new life on the mountain in Tembagapura.

Along with finishing up the school year, the kids have sadly attended the last of their extra-curricular activities but both are very bravely looking forward to the new adventures, experiences and friendships that lay ahead.

Farewell Mrs Smith – Ava’s last day at Townsville Grammar School

Farewell to Gracie’s wonderful Kindy teachers

Goodbye to Kerry and her gorgeous Kids in Harmony program

Ava’s final dance concert

The girls saying goodbye to their swim coach Glenn Buchanan

Moving out of our home of 13 years was a massive job but now that our air freight, sea freight and storage items are (hopefully) on their way to their final destinations, there is a fair dose of relief mixed in with the melancholy.  On a personal note, I must admit to saying a special goodbye to our massive kitchen and bathrooms as we are moving to much more ‘condensed’ versions of both!  They are but a snippet of the many adjustments we know we’ll be making in the months to come.  Saying goodbye to the wonderful friends and neighbours in our street is a particularly sad part of our departure, for even though we plan to return in a couple of years, the street will likely have changed somewhat by then.  It really is the end of an era for us.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes…

On the upside, we were incredibly lucky to re-home our 11 year old cat Munchie with a really lovely family nearby and our goldfish (was plural, but has since become singular…) with our lovely friends across the road.  And while tears were shed saying goodbye to these much-loved members of the family, there was no love lost in farewelling the ludicrously expensive electricity, gas, telephone, fuel, registration and insurance bills that come with living life in North Queensland.  Won’t miss those one little bit!

Farewell to our Munchie cat

While we are now technically homeless, the kids and I have been very generously rehoused in a friend’s beachside apartment – a sea change we’ve taken to like seagulls to hot chips!

The view from our temporary abode…nice huh?

We’ve used our temporary sea change to spend quality time with those people who are really important to us and we have been so lucky to have this time with them.  The girls have bravely bid their besties goodbye and are looking forward to exploring new and old ways of keeping in touch.  Personally I’ve struggled to hold back the tears when farewelling my closest girlfriends…ok to be honest, I haven’t managed to hold them back at all!  But if there is to be anything gained from the pain, saying goodbye has meant reflecting on the good times, acknowledging how important and treasured these friendships are and accepting that they will be sorely missed. Ladies, you know who you are x

In this long series of lasts, the final two will ironically be both the hardest and the easiest of all.  Our closest family members will be delivering us to the international airport in Cairns this coming Monday and those goodbyes will be the toughest of all.  However, after 10 weeks apart, the girls and I will finally be reunited with Daddy once we arrive in Indonesia, so our last night away from him is happily anticipated.  It seems, after all the hard work and sadness, that the excitement is finally starting to build.

And so, as our current life in Australia ends and our new life in the jungle begins, we consider ourselves ready (as we’ll ever be) for our Indonesian adventure.

Until next time…

Sampai Jumpa
(See you later)