As far as I can tell, the picture above is the first picture that I have ever taken of my family in Australia. We are at the airport in Sydney and have just landed on April 22 2008.
My girls look a little bit tired here, but they've just been flying halfway across the world and have just been subjected to a useless process (we will eventually give up on trying to understand the need of some of these processes in Australia). So... We just landed in Sydney, where we got off the plane, walked around, and the same people, carrying the same bags, were not allowed onto the same aircraft until all were subjected to a complete and thorough security check (take off your shoes so we can double check there isn't a bomb concealed up your heel). Yes... mmmkay ... righto! G'day then :)
So it's been a year...
An entire year..
A year that went by quickly...
So I thought it'd be a good idea to ponder the year that has passed. As I started pondering, I realised that I have actually been pondering the year that has passed and that I have been using this blog for exactly this reason. So, then I felt a bit silly... but decided to carry on pondering anyway.
I wouldn't hesitate for a second to say that this has been one of the most interesting and probably toughest year of my life. But the last five years have been pretty tough for Olga and I. We have come to the conclusion that we have gone through too much change in the last four to five years:
From losing loved ones to being blessed the arrival of new loved ones like my baba and Ethan
From building our house, and then having to leave it.
From buying two nice cars and then having to sell them both.
From the actual physical move nevermind the emotional one
From moments of elation to trips we've had to make to the emergency room
From the implications at work, my promotion at work, Ola's promotion at home
And the journey, as always, has been punctuated by the necessary family dramas
I should feel stronger, older, and wiser today that what I have felt a year ago (and maybe I am)
But the more I learn, the more I realise how little I know...
And so, counter-intuitively the older I get (and feel), the more I realise how young I am,
One thing is for sure though, the journey has been
Wild
Exciting
Exhausting
Lovely
Very quick
So a year later, what would I do different?
What have I learnt that I think would have been really useful information to know a year ago?
Speed. And living in the moment.
I'd do it all again,
But I'd do it slower.
And I'd savour it a bit more.
Savour it... Kinda like that thing you do when you have a really good Lindt dark chocolate with the soft middle that all just melt in your mouth, and you literally can't speak for about 1 minute because you're somehow forced to slow down and enjoy it.
So there you go (or there I go).
More slow
More now
More enjoyment and savouring.
More of the same, just slightly different attitude and slower
