Half a Household

We are now a household of two. Our best mates and roomies left last Wednesday to fly home. 

There had been a LOT of to-ing and fro-ing in the couple of weeks leading up to their flight as to whether it would go ahead or not. Initially it got cancelled, rebooked, one leg got pushed back by a week, then there was debate about whether they would even leave on the date they were aiming for or if they'd be stuck spending Christmas here instead of in the Aussie sun. 

With less than 36 hours to go, they finally had confirmation the flight was going, albeit to Brisbane instead of Adelaide....

Luckily, the weekend prior, they had done test packs, weight checks, and last minute shop visits (conveniently we did most of that Friday before the lockdown commenced at 6pm), and all the loads  of washing, so come the day before, they just had to tie up the last minute loose ends with work and do a proper final pack. 

Wednesday morning, their driver picked them up at 5:15am and I cried like a baby (again...I am such an ugly crier, so that was a fun new side of me they got to see 😅) and Cameron and I went back to bed for a couple of hours before starting the day at a more reasonable hour. That was the plan; we didn't really sleep so actually we just practised the art of 'toss and turn'.

The house has felt quieter and colder with their departure. But it also now has the tingle of anticipation, of it nearly being our turn to go. In two months, less than, we'll be making the same journey - though hopefully direct to Adelaide. 

With the house half as empty, I am now busying myself with listing things to sell on Marketplace, beginning to think about the deep clean each room will need to go through, about what to pack in our freighted boxes vs what will go in our suitcase, what last minute gifts and souvenirs have to be purchased, and where we want to return to for one last time. 

It's a bittersweet situation - I don't want to wish the time away but at the same time, I am so ready to be home. We've gone through so many lockdowns and quarantines, had so many things cancelled, and just not had the year we had hoped/expected/planned for. Same as everyone, I know. But we moved here away from family and friends, our home, our dog, and now it's just time. 

Not before a hopefully white Christmas though. Or, if nothing else, the chance to wear a Christmas jumper in exactly the right climate...