And just like that the first three months of our life in Australia have passed.  To be honest, I find it unbelievable we are into November and facing the short run home to Christmas already.

Only, this is going to be an Australian Christmas, there will be no festive lights to brighten the rapidly darkening days and a zero chance of the fabled white Christmas.  It will be different, it’s almost certainly going to be fun but this year has brought so many changes, it’s left us reeling a bit.

This move was dominating our lives even though we were ten months from boarding a plane.  Every year I shake my head and wonder where the time has gone but 2025 has flown by faster than most.

A year ago, we were preparing for a Christmas visit from my mum and a trip North of the border to Edinburgh in all its festive glory.  Kerry’s Australian resident visa had just been granted and we were looking into the cost of transporting a dog halfway across the world.

Fast forward twelve months, we are living with mum and Chloe has cost us a further fortune in vets bills as she navigates the do’s and don’ts of doggy life in Australia.  Mostly by replacing the lush edible grass of England by coarser Aussie fare that slashes her tender bowel lining.  It adds a worrying red tinge to her stools and has meant Kerry I and I have developed a grim new habit of sharing pictures of our dog’s shit with each other. 

She also had teeth removed and was bitten by another dog.  Thankfully Guy Fawkes night is not a thing in Australia, nor are the three weeks of nightly fireworks the precede it.

One point that can’t be denied as we packed up our possessions, painted the house, took one last trip away in the van to Ireland or wrapped up our old life earlier this summer, is that we were busy.  I knew it at the time but it’s only now, with everything behind us, that I’m amazed at how much we achieved.

The rapid pace of life never let up once we arrived as we bought a car, got jobs, navigated the Aussie bureaucracy, caught up with family we had not seen in years and settled into life in another country.  Undoubtedly, it was the right choice but it’s only now, as the dust settles, that we are reminded of how much we enjoyed our old lives.

There will be no photos of autumn colours this year.  I’m jealous of the lady who is taking our old van away for the weekends, while someone else is enjoying the colder nights in our cozy home.  And that’s not mentioning the family that we left behind.

We have a new life to build and so far, we’ve basically revolved around family with a few trips to Melbourne thrown in.  Three months in and we still have no idea what we want to do, it took us twenty years to build the life we wanted in the UK and I don’t expect things will just happen here overnight.

I’m not complaining, I feel very lucky and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.  But as we race toward another new year and the moment where a new life will begin to unfold, I find I miss many of the old things we had. And I can’t but help feel it’s simply a reminder to enjoy what you have while you have it.

You’ll find a link to Kerry’s latest reel right here