We’re back. I know, you know that. We’ve been back for a while really, a few weeks now. Except…not so much. People ask me all the time, and have asked me pretty much since we arrived back here “Are you settling in to life back home?” They ask because it’s what you ask, and it’s a fair enough question, although the answer is really anything less than straightforward.

I’m reading this book at the moment, called “Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking”, by Susan Cain (yes, it’s brilliant, and yes I recommend it highly) and she makes the interesting observation that while extroverts tend to throw themselves into events, introverts tend to need time to process the meaning behind the events. Oh Hallelujah! SOMEBODY understands me!! (okay, I’m sure a lot of you do). It helps ME understand me! It helps me understand why, after being back in Australia for four weeks I finally feel now like I’m actually home, and why it’s okay that it took a while.

So yes, thank you. I’m settling into life back home. I’ve gradually shifted that amazing present to the past, and I’m embracing the memories with gusto. I’ve asked all the stupid questions “Why us? Why were we so blessed to be able to do such a thing, when so many others are struggling?” and “What’s the point of it all? How do we deal with it when we come home and step back into life as if nothing has happened, when SO MUCH happened?”

We learned a lot on that trip. We learned a lot about ourselves, about how to do family well, about how to communicate, about how to be effective parents. We didn’t always get it right, and we learned to forgive ourselves and each other and keep going. We made memories. We made family.

Canoeing on Lake Louise, AB, Canada

I think, for all that, a little bit of bumpy adjustment time coming home has been worth it.