changes

There are a lot of things changing at the moment, not just where we live, though that is a big one. We have changed States and houses, consolidating two places into one. We have become a household of three most of the time instead of less than half the time. Johanna and I will be travelling (every third week Monday to Friday in Tassie so Johanna can attend school) and Colin will be staying at home. He will live and work in the same State and his commute will be by car or train not plane and will be most days rather than Monday and Thursday. Johanna will complete a lot of her schooling independently with support from her teachers and plans to work as much as possible as she saves for her gap year next year. I will no longer have the same caring role for my father. The rhythm of our lives these past few years has come to an abrupt end and we are tentatively finding our way with all these changes. For each of us 'life' has taken a major turn and we are navigating the unknown. It is exciting, exhausting and occasionally overwhelming...

barwon heads

One week in and amidst all the unpacking, cleaning and organising (and numerous visits to Bunnings and Kmart) have been walks along the beach and local paths, 

and a foggy Sunday morning walk (Colin's photos from his iPhone),

and we have checked out the local shops and cafes and it looks like Johanna may already have scored herself a job!

running on empty

Well, we now officially reside in only one place, Colin lives and works in the same state and all the family is in the Melbourne/Barwon Heads area. A massive few weeks after a full on year complete with a couple of major crises, some unexpected drama and a myriad of 'stuff' that is 'normal life'. To say we are running on empty would be an understatement. But we are here and mostly unpacked and in another week or so will collect the (heavily laden) cars from Tassie and then the end will be in sight.

An iPhone panorama from Johanna, the view at the end of her walk today.

Hoping the beauty of this place soothes our souls...

interlude

This year is number 8, our annual mid winter break in Byron Bay. Familiar places and familiar faces. So far; blue skies, sunshine, rolling surf, dolphins, whales.... Our 9 days here are sandwiched between packing, cleaning, moving, organising and all the other stuff that goes with relocating, times two. It is impossible to switch off completely but we are thankful for moments that distract and that focus our attention on the here and now and something other than all that has occurred in the last few months and all that is yet to come...

morning coffee

overload

It has been a while since I have felt as stressed as the last few weeks (well months really). A culmination of a lot going on and things going wrong and the feeling that sometimes it is all a bit too much. Experience tells me that life is like this sometimes and that it will pass. We have reminded ourselves that we have family and friends to help, that we have resources and choices, that we are so very fortunate, even when it all feels overwhelming. And most importantly we have each other. I think of these things as I lie awake at night or when I feel too nauseous to eat, not to dismiss or minimise my feelings or current experience but to provide a perspective within which to place them. We are 'riding out a storm' on the back of a season of storms and looking forward to arriving in a safe haven for bit...

counting days

This time next week Johanna and I will be staying with my mother, our Seaport apartment vacated. This time in two weeks Colin and I will be in Byron Bay, our yearly winter sojourn. This time in three weeks we will be packing up the Melbourne apartment. This time in four weeks we will be in our new place at Barwon Heads. So many loose ends to tie up, so many things to organise and be done. So many strange and conflicted feelings. Sometimes I don't know whether I am coming or going and sometimes I don't know what I feel. Full - full of things to do and feelings overflowing.

Every now and then we take some 'time out'. Friday morning Johanna skipped school and the three of us walked along our boardwalk taking in the destruction of the floods, we went to Longford to Hubert and Dan's (all out of their legendary eclairs by mid morning) and enjoyed the beautiful old trees in a park nearby (which Johanna promptly climbed).

there were some very impressive fungi too

Yesterday Colin and I drove to Hobart (Johanna is working all weekend) and wandered around MONA and Salamanca. We left just before sunrise and returned just before sunset, the day sandwiched between two dazzling skies.

sunrise on the way to Hobart 

sunset from our verandah

we will be sad to lose our view

As we count down days and tick things off our lists it is good to see and feel the touch of nature and be reminded of what really matters...

a whole lot of water

Johanna and I arrived home on Monday to a very wet Launceston. It didn't take long to catch on that unprecedented flooding was expected around the state. Our apartment at Seaport sits very close to where the North and South Esk rivers join the Tamar. Both were forecast to reach major flooding levels. We are fortunate to be on the first floor and renting so were a lot less stressed than some of our neighbours.

On Monday afternoon the North Esk peaked sending a wall of fast flowing brown water and debris past our doorstep. The water levels almost reached the height of the boardwalk.

Today the South Esk became a raging torrent spewing into the Tamar.

The water rose above the boardwalk and lapped at the door, some lower parts of Seaport becoming inundated.

We received a text message to evacuate and the police began door knocking. Tonight the river will continue to rise and peak sometime tomorrow morning.  And who knows what after that...