The Plunge Down Under

Dear Australia

In honor of Australia Day, here's a post I wrote nearly two years ago:

Dear Australia,

You and I had a rough beginning.  I had never thought about you much until R came home one day and rocked my world by telling me there was a great job opportunity for him in Melbourne.  I thought that I had prepared myself for this big moment, only I expected the job would be in London, Brussels, Paris or perhaps Berlin.  But Melbourne?  Was there a city called Melbourne outside of Florida?  I gave myself five seconds to consider it.   Absolutely not, never, no way, not us.  I told R he wasn't allowed to even say your name again in my presence.

McConnells Mill: Beauty in All Seasons

Our last full day with our Australian friends before they headed back to Melbourne dawned gray and bleak.  I am pretty sure the weather managed to achieve the maximum level of bleakness possible for a sun-less day in January in Pittsburgh.   Around about 3pm we congregated around the dining room table, some of us exhausted from the endless chauffeuring that weekends bring, others exhausted from packing and re-packing suitcases, and all of us with spirits that matched the weather.  Fortunately Gillian happened to scroll back to a photo of McConnell's Mill I sent her last year, and when she showed it to me, I said, "Let's go."

My expectations, frankly, were low.  I anticipated muddy paths against a background of boring grays and browns.  It wasn't the way I wanted them to experience one of my very favorite places.  But it had to beat moping around the table, we figured, and sure enough it did.  In fact, McConnells Mill did more than that.  It surprised and delighted all of us in spite of the overcast skies.  A thin layer of snow increased the natural beauty of the setting, and as the light began to fade, more flakes began falling.  It added the perfect touch to a day that suddenly seemed beautiful rather than dreary, peaceful rather than tense, and invigorating rather than dull. Not bad for this modest-but-lovely little corner north of Pittsburgh.

Hanging Out in Washington DC

When we lived in Melbourne, we spent so much of our time sightseeing around Australia that locals joked with us that we knew their country better than they did.  There may have been some truth to those claims.  We were certainly motivated to see as much as possible, and it was exciting to explore in a different hemisphere. We have not done nearly so well taking our kids to see stuff in the United States.  They have toured the capital cities of both Canada and Australia, but Washington D.C.?  No, at least not before last week.  I guess it's appropriate that it took the encouragement of our Aussie friends to finally take our kids to the American capital city.  Visiting D.C. was in fact not only their idea, but (I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit) we relied on them to serve as our tour guides as well.

Reunited in Pittsburgh

Five years ago, the word Australia was the elephant in the room.  I had forbidden my husband to mention it ever again, particularly in front of my family.  The word itself signified for me not so much the stereotypical images of kangaroos hopping in the Outback or surfers on Bondi Beach, but rather a deep dark hole of fear.  If I allowed myself to consider the possibility of transporting our family there, I was fairly certain it would be a disaster.  The potential losses were too great.  The potential gains (exploring the Great Barrier Reef? international adventures? family bonding moments?) were too nebulous to offer any comfort.

Looking back I can see that I was both right and wrong.  The losses were indeed great.  We hurt our family members and effectively ended friendships that had been of great importance to us.  We subjected our kids to lifelong impact by removing them from their home country for four impressionable years, and yes, the family bonding proved to be more nebulous than we had wished.  All too often it turned into family fighting and bickering.  

What I failed to anticipate fully were the potential benefits.  Certainly I did not expect to find a family away from home.  I did not have enough faith in the God who had sustained us this far in our lives to see us through the changes, nor did I envision the lifelong friendships that were forged as we carved out a life on the southern hemisphere.  

What a joy, therefore, to spend time with such lifelong friends over these Christmas holidays.  We have undertaken more than one excursion (photos below), and tomorrow we head off for an adventure in the U.S. capital.  But mostly we have appreciated the opportunity to hang together once more.  Knowing as we do so well the pain of separation, we are doing our best to savor every moment.

Niagara Falls, Canada:  With four parents representing four nationalities, it only seemed appropriate that we spend one day of our holidays crossing an international border to visit one of the world's great wonders.

 

Popping in to Say Hello and Merry Christmas

I am checking in between loads of laundry to say hello and post a few pictures from the past two months.  At the end of my last post I hinted at reunions to come, and even as I type our Australian friends wait in the Denver airport to board their flight to Pittsburgh.  We learned from them two years ago how to celebrate Christmas at the beach.  This year, we will be the ones hosting, and we will do our best to show them a proper northern hemisphere holiday, with or without snow.

In the meantime, as I wait for the minutes to tick away until it is time to head to the airport, here is a little bit of what we have been up to since the end of October.

Trick or Treating with the Neighbors:

Overflowing in October

Blogging works best when it's done frequently.  I find that the longer I wait between posts, the harder it is to write one.  But today seems like a good day to try.  For starters, it's a gorgeous autumn day, one of my all-time favorite kind of weather days.  The air has the kind of bite to it that suggests crisp new apples.  It is just cool enough to make us appreciate the sun that pokes out its head from time to time,  highlighting the red, orange and yellow leaves that are still clinging to the trees.   It is the kind of day, in short, that makes one grateful just to be alive.  Plus, it also happens to be my birthday.

The last time I posted we were on the cusp of a new school year.  I think there was a sense of both dread and excitement for all of us.  R was three weeks into his second new job since our return, and I couldn't help but remember the challenges of the previous year.  Now that we completed the first quarter of the school year, it should be safe to report that this year has been far smoother than the last one--and for that we are ever so thankful.  I love being back in the classroom.  All four kids are happier and have settled into some nice friendships.  Three of them are motivated to work hard and learn as much as they can (well, two of them anyway), and while we still have frequent talks about what we miss about Australia, I think we have accepted that Pittsburgh is where we live now (with the possible exception of the one who started it all).

Here are a few highlights of the past two months.  

Back to School:

Back to School, Me Included

It's that time of year again.  For most North American parents the end of August means an end of one season and the beginning of another.  Lazy mornings, mid-morning smoothies, afternoon trips to the pool, and late evening strolls are over.  Instead we will be making lunches, overseeing homework and enforcing early bedtimes.  The mood in our house has varied greatly from one individual to the next.  When I suggested a shopping trip to buy clothes and supplies last week, each of our four children displayed a different reaction.  If you know them at all, you can probably guess which description applies to which kid.

Child number one was ready to hop in the car and go shopping immediately in spite of the fact that she has had her backpack ready to go since mid-July. Her back-to-shool shopping, in fact, began at some point in June, approximately one week after school let out. She has binders with color coded dividers for every class.  Outfits are organized on brand-new hangers, pencils are sharpened, and her locker is decorated and filled with supplies.  The first day of classes can't come soon enough.

Summer from my Phone

Love them or hate them, smartphones contain amazing cameras.   Here are a few moments that have ended up on my phone this summer--most of them taken by me, but others texted to me by family and friends.  

His dad said "Yes" to Fairy Floss--He knew which parent to ask.

Summer Reads

 

This summer for me has been a summer of books.  I had the goal of writing up book reviews for all of the books on my current reading list, but I don't think that will happen anytime soon.  Instead, here is a list of the books I have read lately, each with a short blurb.

 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.  

I may well have strained the bonds of several relationships by talking about this book too much.  It sat on my kindle for many months before I was motivated enough to start reading it, but once I did, I was hooked.  After establishing a working definition of introversion, Cain explains how American culture changed from valuing character in the 19th Century to favoring personality in the 20th.  This has given extroverts a clear advantage in recent decades.  Cain examines environments such as school rooms, corporate offices, evangelical churches, motivational conferences and the Harvard Business School, just to name a few, showing how most reward extroverts over introverts.  She then deftly demonstrates what we as a culture have lost by failing to recognize the contributions of introverts.  The book finishes with advice for both introverts and the extroverts seeking to understand them.

A Canadian Summer

Loons calling, petals waving, fish nibbling, children casting, lake water lapping, branches sighing, grandparents smiling, wisteria climbing, berries ripening, cousins squealing, wood stacking, oars dipping, bald eagle swooping, marshmallows roasting, sun sinking, twilight lingering, flowers glowing, rocks gleaming, flies biting, stars blinking.