My apologies for neglecting the blog of late but I do have an excuse. You see, our quiet and well-ordered home has been somewhat disrupted. My son, who lives in Sydney, is deeply involved in an online gaming project that shows every sign of being hugely successful. Graeme is, like most computer geeks, a night owl, working in the night time and sleeping by day. The fact that this project sees him constantly conversing with work colleagues in the USA means that this scenario looks likely to continue for some time.
The other one in the picture is my daughter, Natalie. She’s two years older than Graeme and she is the cause of the disruption. You see, Natalie is a professional ventriloquist, working in children’s ministry in collaboration with many church, school and community organisations all over Australia. However, Australia is a big place with distances between the cities large and expensive to which to travel, so, while she is constantly busy, the demands on her time and her family are large and not always rewarding financially.
And so it has developed that she has answered a call from a large church in San Diego in California, to move to the USA and continue her work, based out of California with the prospect of much more work and better working conditions than what she experiences here. This will mean that she and her wonderful husband (aka BSILW – Best Son-in-law in the World) and my three amazing grandchildren will be leaving “home” and going to the USA for at least a year.
To say that we are excited for them is an understatement; to say that my wife is inconsolable about the prospect of them being half way across the world is an even greater one.
With that in mind and with the rapidly approaching date of their departure (next Wednesday), it has been pretty “full on” for them. They have had to clean and vacate their house in preparation for tenants to move in and, for the last three weeks, the 5 of them have been living here with us. Now do you understand what I meant when I said “disruption”? The eldest is Joshua. He’s 13, quiet and studious and seriously intelligent. Then there’s Daniel, 10, equally clever and possessed of an “off the wall” sense of humour. Then there is Thomas, 6. At least as clever as the other two and showing every sign of emulating their success at school so far.
But, as you can imagine, the change between there being TWO people in the house to SEVEN has been seriously challenging. And, one of the consequences has been much less time to spend on the computer as demands of running the boys to school, picking them up, shopping for 7 instead of 2 and squeezing the possessions that they are taking with them to the States into every nook and cranny has impacted upon our previously tranquil lifestyle.
That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. The time that we have been able to spend with them has been very precious indeed and, while you can’t “bank” it, the memories of the fun that we have had will help to sustain us as we get used to not being able to just duck around the corner to visit them.
Family matters? Hell, yes it does.
dallas says
having been on the other side (the couple leaving) i can honestly say it wont be that bad Phil. With skype, emails and all the other mods we have, i actually speak more with my parents now than i ever did before! (and we’re a very close family). It just means that the times you do see each other are even more special, but the goodbyes dont get any easier unfortunately.
D
Phil Hall says
Thanks, mate, I hope you’re right!
jeffb says
No truer words have been said, Phil. Family Matters and should always come first. I wish Natalie and family well and I am sure their time OS will be a great adventure for them all. Tell Helena Skype (whilst not a substitute for face to face) is a wonderful thing! Jeff
Phil Hall says
Yes, I believe you’re right. Won’t make saying goodbye any easier, though.