84 Days

84 days, our Half Lap home, one way journey from Perth, Western Australia to Noosa, Queensland has come to an end. 

What an incredible journey it was. Loads of fun, so much to see, some sleepless nights, many tantrums (from all of us), long days on the road plus some really short ones, awesome swimming holes, empty beaches, crowded markets, windy roads... you name it and we did it, felt it and experienced it!

I never had expectations I would arrive at our new home feeling relaxed. I knew that being in the same caravan with the same people for 3 months that it would get testing. No matter how much you love someone, you need your own space and time to yourself. Plus being 21 weeks pregnant on arrival, my bladder patience and memory were already shot! So we all made it work where we could.

The absolute very best part for me (I’m getting sentimental) was seeing our children make friends. To see them taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zones sometimes and feeling proud of themselves. In turn it made my heart smile.

The first week or two we stopped at caravan parks and neither child would walk to the playground on their own (despite it being 2 sites away), or the play/games room. They would ignore ‘hellos’ from other children and go all shy.

By half way through our trip, they would go together to playgrounds and games rooms, venture away from the safe little box of our caravan site. They began to make friends and they began to play really well with children who were also nomads for a while. It was awesome. They used their manners and they were courteous, all on their own. To listen to their little conversations, watch their games and catch a glimpse of so much happiness and pride form within themselves was just bloody awesome.

I’ll also shout out to my amazing husband while I’m being sentimental as he drove the whole 10,000+kms and put up with my forgetfulness, complete memory loss, weak bladder, waning patience and bad singing along the way. 

Really really appreciate the little things. Your child may not be the leading goal kicker of a footy team, best on ground, win all the swimming races, but if they’re kind, courteous and can use their manners then you’re winning. Take those small wins, they’re often way better than the big ones ;-)