Wow wee, we’re back in the land of the scorching sun. It’s been so hot since we got home that I haven’t really been able to go outside in any kind of meaningful way, which sucks. It is hard to believe that we have spent the last three weeks swanning around the South Island. It feels like a distant memory apart from a few residual holiday artifacts floating around like the odd NZ receipt in my bag and the last remaining NZ$5 in my wallet.
Frank got a Dunedin T’shirt that he pretty much hasn’t taken off since we got home which is cute and everyone has added an ‘aye’ to the end of every sentence which is a lovely hangover from being in Aotearoa for so long. We’re so very lucky to have two places that we feel so connected to. Being able to go back to New Zealand and have my family just muck in with my sister’s is one of life’s great joys. I’ve lived in Australia for 21 years but the moment we step onto NZ soil, it's like we’re all meant to be there.
Coming home is always nice though. The kids were so excited about relaxing on the couch. I was so excited about sleeping in my own bed and eating some more nutritious food. Eating well on holidays is incredibly difficult. Alice got banned from eating hot chips at one stage because we figured out that was all she’d eaten for 75% of her meals, for days.
The first thing we did when we got home was split up so I could unpack and Matt could do the food shopping. I’ve pretty much eaten nothing but fresh salad sandwiches and vegetables for every meal since. It feels good to eat well. It also feels good to get back into my exercise routine. I was pretty good in NZ, managing to get out and run every second day but it can be hard to find a 5km track in a place you don’t know very well.
One of the highlights of the holiday for me was doing parkrun with my older cousin Tim and his son. I love doing Parkrun at Wallaby Track in Ballarat and have tried many times to line one up in New Zealand before but it never worked out. On Saturday I joined 666 runners at Hagley Park in Christchurch and ran my 74th Parkrun while chatting away to my cousin which was really special. It was a lovely way to wind up the holiday.
Since getting back life hasn’t really gotten back to normal. The kids are obviously still on holiday and I have another week off before starting back at the Tech School, I do however have lots of Design Dept work so Matt took the kids down to Apollo Bay to escape the heat while I settled into some focused designed work.
Living alone and working away quietly at my desk couldn’t be further from how I’ve spent the last three weeks on holiday with my family. At one stage we had two beds between four of us. We have been literally living on top of each other for weeks! The space and quiet has been refreshing and much needed to get some work done but 3 nights is probably enough. I miss the rowdy chaos that is my family. I don’t miss the kids constantly fighting about the stupidest of things which happened all holiday, but I do miss the random hugs and closeness that comes from being so comfortable in each other's company.
I read this great quote from Anne Dillard the other day, How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. It’s a great reminder of how important every single day is. It doesn’t matter if you’re somewhere special on holiday with family or if it's a random Wednesday morning and you’re hanging out the washing, all these moments contribute to your life.
Being deliberate and present in everything we do is the best chance we’ve got to live with purpose, no matter what the situation we find ourselves in.
