Out of the Outback after 33 years
It’s getting closer. Things are kind of falling in place and the feelings of leaving the Territory are starting to congest my thoughts. There’s been a lot of ups and downs to this decision and as the goodbye’s start to roll in, it’s not all excitement. There’s a lot of fear of the unknown.
I immigrated to Australia when I was 8 years old. My mum met my dad in Scotland and they got married and she had the guts to leave everything she knew to start a life in a country she had been to once. Kind of puts things in perspective right? I don’t remember too much about the move but I do remember being the only girl in school without an Aussie accent. That swiftly disappeared as I was surrounded only by Aussie kids.
I have so many memories attached to the NT. I’m going to rattle off a few of my favourite to take some of you down memory lane. Swimming down the rapids of Rapid Creek (which was quite possibly filled with crocs but we were just kids being kids). Parap water slides. Half price Red Rooster chicken and chips on Tuesday’s. Sizzler and the movies. Camping trips to the Daly (also swimming in the Daly holy shit). Fishing trips with my dad to Adelaide River. Crabbing. Burning salty plum mouth burn. Red fingers. Periwinkles off Casuarina beach. Einstein’s. The Vic. Dancing on the tables at the Vic. East Point. Poinciana woman. Going to ‘town’. The footy. Brothers Neilsen days – as surf shop I worked in. The Cav Sunday sesh. Laksa. Nightcliff Jetty jumping. Casuarina twin cinemas. Basketball. The wharf, I spent my days here as a kid as my dad was a fisherman. It was hell ha ha. The Matador. Discovery – Bar 2. Skateworld. The Hop. New friends, old friends, the Vic bathroom floor friends. Moving to Ludmilla. Having my babies. Noodles. St Mary’s footy club. The Den (our Anula home). There are so many to list and it wasn’t all happy memories either.
That’s what they are though – memories. I will forever be grateful that I spent my childhood in Darwin. Growing up in such a multicultural school and having mates that were just mates, it didn’t matter what colour they were or where they were from. That’s how I saw the world and I will continue to teach that to my girls.
The Darwin chapter is coming to an end. It’s been a huge one. I’m ready for some new memories though, some different adventures, cooler weather, less mould and designing life to how I want it. Darwin will always be here and will always be home.
Our house has now sold. We were lucky enough to have three offers on our second open house and obviously accepted one. We have slowly moved the staging out as a staged house and two children is not ideal. Noods has managed to get a job fully remote with his favourite NFT brand, World of Women and I’m now focused on packing the rest of the house while trying to keep to our forever changing timeline. Focusing on training someone in the clinic to run it from afar (that part hasn’t fallen in to place yet) and still trying to keep the girls lives as normal as I can.
The goodbye’s are beginning and I have a lump in my throat with all of them. So if I see you and we have a cuddle and I can’t talk it’s because I’ve got that lump. I know when I finally sit on the plane, with my two girls and husband by my side there will be tears. Knowing that I’m not just leaving for a holiday but I’m actually leaving. I will finish this blog with some beautiful words that really resonated with me:
“what is the feeling when you’re driving away from people, and they recede on the plain til you see their specks dispersing? It’s the too huge world vaulting us, and its goobye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies”.
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