Monday, June 8, 2009

The Simple Things

It was a long weekend here and while it was great to have an extra day off work to just chill and get stuff done around the house, it also brought on another bout of homesickness. We have been talking a lot lately about what Australia has meant to us, what we have gained from this experience, and what we will take away from it.

We both agree that it has been a fantastic adventure. Despite any number of things that we might dislike about Australia, we have had a great time so far. And we hope to have quite a few many more adventures before we leave. But... there are definitely days when I am ready to pack up and go home... even though we aren't quite sure where home might actually be.

Those are the times when we talk about what we like about Oz, and what we would miss if we were to pack up and leave. And we usually come back to the little things, the simple things, that we enjoy about our lives here.

Sure, it's way easier to list the things we don't like - and honestly, it's just plain more fun to winge about the negative stuff. But it's more meaningful to focus on the stuff that we love, and it's those things that get me through the homesick days.

So, what do we love about it here? Well, for starters, we have seen more stunningly blue skies and sunny days than we could ever imagine seeing. I have seen more rainbows in the past month than I have maybe seen in my entire life, ever. Walking to the grocery store is a small joy we never experienced before. We have learned to live with less stuff and still be happy. We cook more, and try new dishes with new ingredients.

Someday we will be happy to return to North America. There is a laundry list of things we will enjoy returning to. But for now, it's about learning to embrace the simple things.

What simple thing have you found joy in this week?

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