5 Years on...
5 years ago today our family of five stepped off an aeroplane onto Australian soil. Byron and myself looked at each other nervously as we tried to keep hold of our three kids aged 7, 5 and 2. We had Gareth strapped in a buggy and the two girls pulled along their mini suitcases on wheels with the books and pencils that had kept them entertained over the previous 24 hour flight. We stood next to the luggage carousel and piled our eight suitcases into a tall wobbly tower. At that moment we had everything and nothing. We had a head full of hopes and dreams of a better future for our kids. We had no house, no mobile phones, no Australian bank account or credit card, no car, no jobs. The rest of our worldly belongings were sitting in boxes on a container ship that was slowly making its way around the world and would take another 3 months to pass into Australian waters. We were starting the biggest adventure of our lives.
Each year on the 5th of October Byron and myself celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of our new lives. We talk through how we feel about the life we are living now. It is a chance to be open about whether we are happy. Whether the dream is still good. We think back to what we hoped for when we first arrived here. Some of those dreams turned into reality and some didn't. We wanted a better quality of life for ourselves and our kids. We wanted to spend more family time in the out doors. We wanted a better work/home balance. We wanted a good family home with a pool in the backyard and not to have a large mortgage hanging around our neck. We wanted to establish new friendships and hold tight to old ones.
Each October 5th is a chance to be grateful for what we have.
We believe that we have a better quality of life here in this small town in New South Wales. It feels like we have taken a step back in time from the social issues of the UK. There are still problems here as there are in any community but it seems like we are a bit protected in our quiet street.
We do spend more time out of doors. The weather helps with being able to plan social get-togethers down the local park. BBQ's don't get called off due to rain as often and even in winter it is generally drier so we can put our fleeces on and get the kids cycling or scooting as we walk along with them.
The work/home balance is the one thing that hasn't worked out. No-one could have known back in 2005 about the economic crisis that was brewing. We could never have foreseen that Byron would lose his good job in the US and that we would spend a number of months with no income before I got a job as a hospital wardsman pushing bins and trolleys around theatre. That Byron would eventually accept a job that paid about half of what we were used to. That I would eventually get my Nursing Registration from the UK transferred to here so I could work as an RN. We believe that this would have happened even if we lived in the UK so we look for the positives. We can pay our bills. We have food in the fridge. I've had to pawn my diamond tiara but hey, life goes on!
As for the home and the pool. We are so lucky to have such a great home for our kids and are eternally grateful that we had finished building it while our income was good.
There have been times it has been hard being away from our families in Ireland and Wales. When there is a birthday and we cant be there, graduations, Mothers day, Fathers day. Days when we would love to be able to pop around with some cakes the kids have made etc. We know that our choices were hard on those we left behind when we chose to follow our dream.
We have made some great new friends. People who we would never had met if we hadn't taken this leap of faith and emigrated. We miss our friends in the UK and Ireland. The really close friends have managed to visit us and although I hand out a blanket apology for being dreadful at regular emails or phonecalls I can honestly say that when we do pick up the phone we can talk for hours! Literally!!!
Would we change a thing?
No. We wake up every day in a beautiful home with our kids safe and happy. We look outside at the lake that never ceases to relax us. We breathe in the warm air and we smile. Stepping on that plane 5 years ago was the biggest risk we ever took. But it was worth it.
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