Sad farewell

Here are some photos from the moving house marathon. It has been a huge month or so for our family. Packing up was a massive never-ending ordeal that dragged on and on and on. It was hindered by having all the gang at home on school holidays. Above is the front room full of boxes.

Here are the boys eating a snack with no chairs and table or plates. In some ways it's an interesting challenge to deconstruct a home. By dismantling all the things that a family needs (or appears to need) to function you get to think about how reliant we are on appliances and stuff. When everything is packed up I always feel myself fretting that I won't survive. You get to that point in packing where you need to pack the bin and I find it quite disorientating. Can I survive without knowing where my grater is or the kids' gumboots?

When we move I am always hopeful that the removalists will take the majority of our belongings. It never seems to be the case however as so much it tend to sit in the house invisible until there last minute. Then begins the relentless moving of the dregs, into the front room, into the car, into temporary storage, out of the temporary storage, out of the car and onto the front lawn, off the front lawn and into the tent/motel etc etc. The move has also been complicated because we moved into a motel for a week whilst waiting for the caravan to arrive and to be set up. We really underestimated how much stuff can hang out in the corners of places like the shed and stable. So much stuff.

The boys hanging out on their bean-bags with doonas, this colourful vision is an ode to my love of vintage fabrics.

Unintentional cloud theme!

Here is my little one in a car so full of junk I could hardly find a way to deliver him into his seat!

So busy doing mad late-night trips across town ferrying last-min bits & bobs that a bag of apples makes dinner during one low point.

The first morning back at school was the day we exchanged on our beloved house and had to say goodbye. We somehow managed to leave the motel early (I had been up since 5am moving stuff) so on the way to school we could walk through the empty nest for the last time. I kept a bag of sparklers aside to burn as a symbolic gesture. Indeed it felt like our time at Gordon Grove was fast and spectacular just like a magical sparkler. The boys really miss their home and it will take a while to adjust.