My new home

I grew up in California  and moved to Australia over six years ago.  My husband is an Aussie who I met in California while he was there working.  We dated long distance for awhile then I made the big move down under.  He already had a home here, a thriving business and after I visited I knew the Aussie lifestyle was for me, so I packed up and took the leap of faith.

It was by far the best move (literally and figuratively) I ever, ever, ever made.

I consider Australia to be my home now and I plan on becoming a citizen in the next year (that's a post for another time).  I have a family home here in a great, safe neighborhood, my babies were born here, the school systems are great, the family atmosphere can't be beat and we are happy.

We have gone back to California once or twice a year over the last six years.  This allowed me to visit my family and friends and still feel like I was part of their lives.  Skye and email are great, but there's nothing like a real hug from your mom and dad.

But with the kids being so small and the travel being so hard (and expensive) we have decided not to make the trek to California this year.  Part of me is sad, but the other part of me is super relieved.  I won't have to pack everyone up, get car seats to the airport, wrangle two kids through security and onto a packed plane.  I won't have to endure the horrified stares of other passengers as we walk down the plane aisles, their eyes pleading...don't sit next to me...please.

It's just a lot of work and I am glad to get a break this year and just do my normal hard work at home.

Yes, a hot Christmas at the beach will always be strange to me, but this is the Aussie life and I need to embrace it.  My kids will grow up here and they won't understand my California ways, but that's fine.  Though I hope they embrace pumpkin bread like a true American (they are both Australian and American citizens, yay for them).

I find myself becoming more and more Aussie as the years go on.  I use their words now...nappy, cot, pram, sunnies, trackies, boot, bonnet, and on and on.  I will never have the accent though, I can't even pretend to do a decent Australian accent without sounding British.

I think I have embraced my new home in ways I don't even realize.  I've just become a new person in a new place and it's good.  And that's where I'm super lucky, I love my new home and the new life it gave me.