International Relations

I started writing this on favourite photo Thursday and I really, really, really wanted to post indulgent and delicious photos of my gorgeous nephews and niece having spent the last week in their company but parental consent and care for their privacy prevents. However, I have a genuinely gorgeous screensaver of images so if you’re in the area pop over and I’ll happily show them off!!!

This was a super trip, hot on the heels of the lastest of the Big Things at work/church and so dropping all the work to head to NZ in the wee hours of Thursday morning was v welcome as a break from being at the service of, and in the company of, ridiculous numbers of people.

To its credit the Big Thing wound up being, in spite of the aforementioned work, a rather refreshing God time so I’m happy to be going back into the office on Monday with a better attitude than I left it last week. It’s often the way it goes with the big things…

Anyway, the following 6(ish) days in NZ were wonderful. All filled up with lovely family time with one notable exception when I had a brief meetup with a fellow kiwi blogher, (and I think we both agreed that half an hour was too darn short… ). I think next time I shall have to schedule in a 2 week visit setting aside one week for family and one for friends…

I shed a tear or two as I flew away from Aotearoa once again yesterday morning. Everytime I visit the kids are that much bigger and the Tasman Sea feels that much wider and though the biggest nephew plaintively suggested that when it came time for me to buy a house could I please do it in Family Central™? I still feel strongly, that for whatever reason, I am meant to be here for now.

I arrived home to find I am in possession of a real live Australian passport now which didn’t quite arrive in time for me to use it on this trip will be put to use (hopefully) at Christmas time and in walking around the green and dampened lawns of my native home I still feel more of a Kiwi than I do an Australian, even though the documentation in my posession now proves I am equally recognized here as every Australian born citizen.

It’s a peculiar thing.

I am the singular Singular here in Australia all the others live within 100 or so km of each other and after becoming enamoured of the children (having already been so of their parents, of course) I have to say I’ve been knocking on heaven’s door about spending more of my future there… I know it won’t be for some time yet, I have a degree to finish at the very least… But, inspite of my feelings this time last year on the matter, even with an Aussie passport in my pocket, the prospect of trekking back to the Waikato is one of those thoughts that never quite goes away…