The End...?

We are officially back in the USA. Our Australian Experiment has ended, for now. Does that mean this blog is completely done? No. Does it mean I won't post very often? Yes. For now it will remain on hiatus, unless I find something relevant to our dual citizen-ness to post. Was the experiment a success? I conclude there were positive results. We came back with more passports than we left with. 

We are adjusting to being back; we have been back for three days. The weather is crap compared to Sydney, but the air is currently much cleaner and not full of smoke. We are making progress on our jetlag, but we're not there yet. So far, we have spent time with family and seen some friends. It's been nice. It seems like some things have changed, like traffic patterns at familiar intersections, or a few people have had kids or bought homes, and now when we drive by the Capitol building, we think, "That's where the impeachment hearing is happening. Right now". The core stuff is mostly the same, though. 

The same technology that helped us keep in touch with our USA people is now what helps us keep in touch with our Australia people. A work colleague of Michael's predicted we will move back to Australia in 5-7 years. I suppose time will tell.

To be continued... ?

Live, Learn, and Pass Stuff On

Through selling some of our furniture online, we met this woman who finds cheap or free furniture and items online and then gives them to various charities, like women's shelters, animal shelters, etc. in the area. She was happy to take a lot of our random stuff - cat carriers, household and kitchen items, and even our crib. She's very sweet, but also loves to talk-talk-talk, and if you have time to listen, she would probably tell you her life story. I think we've heard half of it in our three encounters with her. 

She has already told us that some of our items have gone to good use for people who really need them. One of our cat carriers went to a man who has one leg, another went to be used for these two rescued kittens at a vet's office. Our crib will go to a charity that has a small storage space where they keep such items to be used by people who are being relocated to/from temporary housing from shelters. Our grocery cart is going to a woman who is starting over after being in a women's shelter for several months. A lot of the stuff we got second-hand is now being passed on to other families - we had our turn in the cycle and now it's somebody else's. We have already put several items out on the curb that have been taken quickly, to my surprise. I didn't know if anyone would take our old cat-feeder that was half-full of dry cat food and it was gone in an hour. 

Bon Voyage, Cats!

The cats have been picked up by their relocation company, and now all evidence that they lived here has disappeared. I'm not even sure if Penny has noticed their absence since she has been home from daycare.

Speaking of which, her last day is tomorrow. She's actually become quite the little ringleader of the little posse at times there - the three girls and a slightly younger boy. Her teacher told me today, she started "flying" around the room and all the other kids had to do it too. We are really going to miss her very homey daycare setting, and I can only hope that she will feel like she belongs just as much in the new one. 

I'm still having issues with the online forms for our shipping crate, so hopefully that will get sorted out soon. Moving overseas is full of boring paperwork and communications tasks.

We only have two sleeps left before we leave on a jetplane. 

Transitioning from AUS to USA.

It's a strange time to live in our apartment. Every day, furniture disappears. Today, Penny went to where our food cabinet used to be, asking for a cookie, and she was so confused that the whole cabinet was gone - frantically looking for a handle on the side of the kitchen counter. Our fridge is gone. So is the washer. It's really bare bones here now. And yet, still having a couch, TV, and bed, it just feels like there's probably the right amount of furniture here now (minus the appliaances), and we were probably just way beyond full before. I'm not cooking anymore, since we can't save anything. It's mostly take-out city and peanut butter sandwiches. 

We had a fun going away party on Saturday, and there were a lot of little kids running around. I think we did The Good Weekend Quiz with a record number of participants. It was really fabulous all around, and surprisingly, I did not shed any tears. 

We have said most of our goodbyes at this point, and we are just doing the final things like canceling utilities, donating the last furniture, and packing our final bags. The cats get picked up tomorrow to start their journey before us. They will stop for a day in Doha, to time their arrival to be a day after ours. 

I played my last ultimate frisbee here yesterday, and Mike will likely play his on Tuesday. It has been a big part of our lives and how we were able to make so many wonderful friends, and even find places to live. 

I'm trying to process the transition. One big part of our lives is ending and another is beginning. I'm excited to go back to the familiar, friends, and family, but at the same time it's a new phase for our family, which is kind of contradictory. Overall, I'm very grateful we have had the opportunity to live here and become citizens. 

Bluey

If you have young kids, you should watch Bluey with them! I think Mike and I enjoy the episodes even more than Penny. They're so simple and short, but always have such a positive takeaway message. 

Tying Up Loose Ends

The shipping cube has come and gone, and now we are left with the dregs of our belongings in the apartment, along with the last appliances and pieces of furniture we are going to sell. I have taught my last day, and have one more day to babysit for our friend (plans changed, since it was going to be last week). We have a going away shindig on Saturday, and I have a local frisbee tournament on Sunday. And then, we just have the last few days to do boring things like cancel utilities and handle that kind of thing. Penny will still be in daycare a few days next week while we are tying up all the loose ends. 

It feels like the right time to go, even though we have having to say a ton of goodbyes. We are looking forward to a family Thanksgiving when we get back!

Our Final Sculpture by the Sea (as locals)

We went to Sculpture by the Sea on Saturday afternoon/evening. The weather was perfect temperature-wise, but windy. It was still crowded, but public transport was more manageable than it can be earlier in day. Penny had fun riding in the hiking backpack, wandering around some of the sculptures in the grassy area, and then swinging at the playground. It was probably our least favorite in that we weren't really blown away by any of the art this time, but it was still a nice outing. 

Halloween and Getting Ready to Move

Halloween came and went. Penny actually got to go trick-or-treating-lite. Mike put our adult-sized zebra costume on her and took her around the block to the four houses who were giving out candy. Kids also wore costumes to her music and movement class, and they danced to some Halloween songs. It's not a big thing here in Australia, so in a way it was a good small taste of the holiday for a little one. 

It's a gorgeous, sunny spring weekend here in Sydney. We had our usual weekend breakfast sandwiches and coffee/chai from the local cafe. 

Then we had to all leave, including the cats, so a realtor could host literally a 15-minute open house for potential renters after we leave. I have also been posting some of our furniture for sale on Gumtree and Facebook marketplace. Come take our used things away... please...