OK, nothing much happened last week as I was writing an essay and drinking lots of tea to complete it. The essay was about Indigenous Australians and their contributions to society which was fascinating as I focussed on Stephen Page the Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre. While I was writing Bangarra had just premiered their new show which a friend of mine got to see in Canberra and she loved it! I miss those days of watching the arts freely and seeing Bangarra and spending time with arts at the theatre. Which leads me to some very exciting news!

We are leaving the USA in January 2019! We discussed the move with our family in Australia, between each other and decided it is time for the kids and myself to go back. The idea being the kids can start the Australian school year in our local school where our house is. And my hubby will live in two countries by travelling every 3 months. So there is a lot to do and organise in between studies. I understand my daughter will not graduate from our beloved elementary school which is sad but there are sacrifices we need to make to actually reach our goal of being back in Melbourne.

I was looking at the trip very reflectively when we were back in Australia and I just have to follow my heart. I felt when I was back home it was so grounding to be with family and friends who are like family and it made me feel so happy. Coming back to California was hard this time as I know this has been home for 12 years but it is time to go back to our roots and have the children experience life from a different perspective. The Bay Area is a place that will always hold terrific memories for me but now the time has come to say farewell.

Next job is to clean out the garage and get rid of stuff and then its back in the house to move along stuff that is ready to go as it is time to live a minimalist lifestyle. To be honest our house in Melbourne will not be housing the huge amount of stuff we have here, simply because we will not have a garage. Step 1 – Love it and let it go, time to go minimalist.