Canberra 10 weeks on
9 1/2 Weeks. Today it is 9 1/2 Weeks since we moved to Canberra.
After more than a decade in Sydney, we had had enough. Just getting around was hard. Both Jen and I had good jobs, but our stress balance seemed to be larger than our bank balance.
So it came to a point of exasperation one night, followed by a flash of inspiration - why not Canberra? One of those monumentally significant decisions one arrives at in 2 seconds.
9 months later, we were commuting up and down the Monaro Highway. I had resigned from my job in St Leonards, but kept up a part time presence. In between we were travelling to Canberra, alternating between looking for a job and looking for a house.
Another 4 weeks later, we had found a job, a school for the kids, and a house to rent. That is another story for another night!
Every night I marvel that we are happy. I fulfilled my old wish of not having a TV. We connect through the 'net. The children don't seem to want for stimulation. They don't ask for the TV. I no longer see the bored and glazed and overstimulated look in their eyes I used to see. More than that is they are happy.
I ask Jenny, as if to pinch myself, how can this be? Maybe it comes from how Jen and I have settled in here being so happy with where we are. We're country folk. There's more time to "be" rather than "do". Ironically the "do" part is easier as well. I am finding my studies are easier. Right at the moment we are in "balance". That spills over into home life, how we are with the kids. They probably have seen and been with me more in the last 2 months than they ever have been, even when we have been on holidays. In fact that's how they feel: we're on holidays!
Canberra is such a lovely spot. I love the bare branches on the trees. They have this elegant simplicity about them silhoutted against clear cold skies. It is winter after all, and you've got to have that wintry look. I love walking up to the bus stop and looking at the trees and skies and sometimes seeing the odd hot air balloon rising above the city. How good is that?
Our first nights here I could not believe how silent it was at 8 at night. Even in the wee hours in Sydney it never got that quiet. Here it's dead silent.
The air's so fresh we drive with our windows down for the smell of it, when we can stand the cold.
When I have more time I'll have to go into this more. For tonight, I have my assignment to complete in Real Property. Oh joy.
After more than a decade in Sydney, we had had enough. Just getting around was hard. Both Jen and I had good jobs, but our stress balance seemed to be larger than our bank balance.
So it came to a point of exasperation one night, followed by a flash of inspiration - why not Canberra? One of those monumentally significant decisions one arrives at in 2 seconds.
9 months later, we were commuting up and down the Monaro Highway. I had resigned from my job in St Leonards, but kept up a part time presence. In between we were travelling to Canberra, alternating between looking for a job and looking for a house.
Another 4 weeks later, we had found a job, a school for the kids, and a house to rent. That is another story for another night!
Every night I marvel that we are happy. I fulfilled my old wish of not having a TV. We connect through the 'net. The children don't seem to want for stimulation. They don't ask for the TV. I no longer see the bored and glazed and overstimulated look in their eyes I used to see. More than that is they are happy.
I ask Jenny, as if to pinch myself, how can this be? Maybe it comes from how Jen and I have settled in here being so happy with where we are. We're country folk. There's more time to "be" rather than "do". Ironically the "do" part is easier as well. I am finding my studies are easier. Right at the moment we are in "balance". That spills over into home life, how we are with the kids. They probably have seen and been with me more in the last 2 months than they ever have been, even when we have been on holidays. In fact that's how they feel: we're on holidays!
Canberra is such a lovely spot. I love the bare branches on the trees. They have this elegant simplicity about them silhoutted against clear cold skies. It is winter after all, and you've got to have that wintry look. I love walking up to the bus stop and looking at the trees and skies and sometimes seeing the odd hot air balloon rising above the city. How good is that?
Our first nights here I could not believe how silent it was at 8 at night. Even in the wee hours in Sydney it never got that quiet. Here it's dead silent.
The air's so fresh we drive with our windows down for the smell of it, when we can stand the cold.
When I have more time I'll have to go into this more. For tonight, I have my assignment to complete in Real Property. Oh joy.
Labels: Canberra 01
posted by JayM at 9:07 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home