The Baynhams

I am at Sydney Airport and about to board a flight to my family in
Ireland. This is a solo visit and is the first time I will have been
separated from Byron and the kids for so many days and nights.

Just over a week seems such a short amount of time to travel to try to
offer help and support to my parents at a time that they need it
greatly. And yet it is such a long amount of time to be away from my
kids and Byron.

I have left lists everywhere, a full fridge and freezer and
instructions on what to eat, what to wear, where to be and what to do!
Poor Byron has been very tolerant.

And so I wave goodbye to my Australian identity and put on the hat of
daughter and sister and prepare myself for what will probably be a
very emotional reunion. I have plans to do as much as I can in my week
in Ireland to help them.

I seem to always volunteer to clean out and sort the fridge every trip
home. I think it probably started once when I was rummaging around
looking for chocolate and got caught and pretended to be cleaning it
out!

My sister has also suggested I might want to help her scrub out the
oven in her house (?) This has led to googling 101 ways to clean your
oven and many funny emails and suggestions between us.

As I sit here in the airport waiting to board my plane I am thinking
about which box to tick on my green departure form? I can't see "Clean
Carries Oven" anywhere on it? Can you?!

The flight has been called. Everyone is standing and joining the
queue. It's time for me to say goodbye. Hot tears are filling my eyes
and I'm furiously blinking them back.

9 days and I will be home again. Home to hugs and kisses and with a
head full of wonderful memories that are still waiting to be made...