Wagga Wagga to Worcestershire & back again
It’s been just over a week since I arrived back in Australia and wow has that time flown by!
It’s been a whirlwind of jetlag, coping with southern hemisphere heat again and unpacking the house Adam and I left behind in Wagga Wagga back in October 2016…
Wishing you and those you cherish a very merry Christmas. May your day be filled with light, love and lots of lovely food and drink.
I’ve so enjoyed sharing life in England with you over 2017 and 2018 is already shaping up to be a very memorable one (11 months until the wedding)!
Look forward to talking about the first few days back in Australia later this week.
Until then.
M. x
Why are goodbyes so darn hard? In a few days time Adam and I will fly out of the U.K. and the last week or so has been a blur of wonderful catch-ups, meals and hang-outs with our England based friends and family…
The day Adam and I got engaged was one of the happiest of my life. I felt so incredibly humbled and excited at the thought of the two of us getting to spend the rest of our days together. Within hours of us sharing the news, questions started flooding in from both the northern and southern hemisphere about our forthcoming nuptials.
Had we set a date, what colour scheme might be choose, would I wear white, and the big one – where would the wedding be? It all suddenly felt a little overwhelming. There were so many things we had to make decisions on!
When Adam and I decided to move back to Australia, the biggest hurdle we had to overcome was visas. While I could happily return to my country of birth without any concerns, for Adam the process was always going to be a little trickier…
Being in an international relationship is a really wonderful thing. Two people from opposites sides of world happen to meet and connect. They realise that although their life experiences are different, they’ve got a huge amount in common and a shared outlook on what they want in the future. Sometimes I feel like I was destined to meet Adam. Small decisions from years gone past, triumphs and tribulations were all part of the process that was leading me towards that initial ‘hello’.
International relationships are also hard – thankfully for Adam and I it didn’t involve long-distance dating – but there are generally visas, extended family, friends, and work -life balance to consider.
For most of 2017 Adam and I have been trying to work out what we want over the next few years, and over the next few weeks we’re about to embark on the next chapter in our adventure…
Yes. One tiny word, but it holds so much meaning. On Friday, Adam asked me to marry him. There was a ‘squeak’ and quite a few tears before I was able to vocalise my answer, but we got there in the end!
We’ve talked about marriage for a long time. It was never a scary subject to broach. Even in the very early days of our relationship, we both knew it worked and that together, we’d go the distance. Getting married was always going to be a natural progression in our relationship. I didn’t really know when it was going to happen, but I knew it would.
In saying that, I still can’t quite believe I’ve now got a fiancé! I don’t really feel any different, but when I look down at my left hand at my engagement ring I can’t help but grin rather stupidly and think about how it got there…
Living in the U.K. has definitely taught me about living more seasonally. That natural rhythm of change every few months is so evident, that you can’t help but adapt to it too.
In Wagga Wagga, where Adam and I lived before moved to England, there were four seasons, but autumn and spring often arrived in short bursts, breaking up the hot and cold weather. Here it’s more gradual and the seasons are given the opportunity to ‘breath’ a little more, so you get to learn the nuances of each quarter of the year…
For the entire time Adam and I have been together we’ve existed in these two separate worlds. Our life in Australia and our life in England – distinct from one another, but each containing family and friends whom we love. The arrival of my family in Malvern has been a little surreal for Adam and I. Our two existences are suddenly colliding and it feels a little strange to be walking around Malvern with so many Aussies in tow!
We spent our first full day together taking it easy around town…
In a few hours time my mum, dad and brother will land in England. Fairly soon after Adam and I announced we were moving to Worcestershire, my family decided they would come and visit us in the English summer. After so many months of talking about the trip, I can’t quite believe it’s almost here!
It’s been around 10 months since I’ve seen my parents and closer to 11 months, my brother. Although we call and text on a regular basis, it’s still not quite the same as being able to talk face to face.
They’re splitting their time between Malvern and travelling around the U.K. so to help them get over their very long journey and to welcome them to our little part of Worcestershire, I’ve made up a small hamper…
Wattle and Ash 