The call of New Zealand is always with me and in 2005 after our last holiday there together as a family, and some serious searching around various areas I thought we were finally going to go. We came home, packed up all the books from the bookcases in the hallway (and there were a lot!) into book boxes and decorated both the hallway and lounge in preparation to put our house on the market. Two years later I finally unpacked those books resigned to the fact that it wasn't going to happen and just got on with things and enjoying the musical opportunities and other activities I did, namely showing and breeding cavies. Nine years later with the loss of the music and cavies the pull to return to New Zealand has returned with a vengeance...and this time it WILL happen. I miss the space, the friendliness and openness of the people and the weather. I am just so sick and tired of grey skies, damp and cold weather and although we had a lovely summer this year, it was the first one for a very long time! Our younger son now only has one and half years left of schooling so the time has come to start working towards this goal in earnest.
This will take a mammoth exercise in clearing out the loft, working out what will stay for us to take with us and what will have to go. With an end goal in sight I feel this will help hugely with my past futile attempts at trying to declutter!
Many things will have to go, including the majority of my lovely Singer Sewing Machine collection as really it is just not feasible to entertain trying to transport it all those thousands of miles. I will keep my 201 in the cabinet, my 221K and hopefully a treadle - for those days there are power cuts! I will have to go through our massive collection of books - again we will have to be realistic about what to keep and what will have to go. There really is a lot to think about!
I will have to work hard at keeping my husband on board with this huge move as I have learnt the hard way that leaving it up to him and it won't happen...plus he will need to concentrate on working to enable us to finance this move, especially now I am unable to teach and play any more
One thing we are both agreeable on is the type of property we want which is always a good thing. We want privacy, some native bush and a little bit of land but not too much that it is unmanageable as it will be me that will do most of the work trying to maintain it.
My aim is for us to be out there by 2016 at the latest, so there is a lot to do and think about in what will turn out in reality to be a short space of time.
So time to pull in the reins, harness our thoughts and put them to work.
How exciting for you - I do so understand the pull you are feeling as I felt it when we lived in France and that was only across the Channel! I hope your dreams come true and good luck with the decluttering!
ReplyDeleteOh, how exciting! It's a great goal. I shall miss the fact that you are only just across the channel, but I'm sure you'll still be blogging!
ReplyDeleteGood for you!!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful for you, this sounds like a timely and well thought through move with time to prepare. I wish you the very best.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful adventure you are planning! It will be such fun to watch you realize your dream...
ReplyDeleteHow exciting. You have a nice amount of time to work with--not so much that it seems like it will never happen, but enough time that you don't have to feel the stress of not enough time (although I'm sure at the very end there won't be enough time as is always the case).
ReplyDeleteAs a person who, at the moment, lives in both Scotland and New Zealand I can well understand the pull of your homeland. At least you know where your homeland is. I think Scotland is mine even though I wasn't born there. I have no pull to my country of birth though. If, however, someone pulled up the drawbridge I could happily spend the rest of my days in New Zealand. Leastways I think I could. It's always difficult to say when one doesn't actually have to make the choice.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely difficult...I was born in the UK but moved to NZ when I was 6, spent 21 years there and have now spent another nearly 20 years back in UK - I feel drawn to both places but miss the space, light, and peace and general more relaxed way of life... Oh and I got married in Scotland! A beautiful country as well, but again sadly lacks the weather and light...
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