It has been a big year of change for all of us. Our family caught covid again (Catherine and I for the second time and Nicholas and Phil for the first time) after our New Zealand trip in January. This year also marked a new era: Catherine in high school, Nicholas in college (year 11) and Mom moving to Canberra. Life became more demanding and worrying which also made us appreciate the little things a lot more, like walks, bike rides, lunch dates, picnics and just being with family and friends.
Nicholas just finished year 11 and has one more year left of school. College was a welcome change and he liked that he had more freedom to learn about what he was interested in. By the end of the year, he was able to work at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in the National Collections (learning about insect taxonomy) one morning a week which he enjoyed. He also discovered a few local Parkcare groups and volunteered at Urambi Hills and Oakey Hill which met once a month to help maintain the land. He has always loved being outdoors (when conditions are right) and in nature, so this has been a happy discovery for him. He has also discovered the joy of bike riding again with an electric bike and he and Phil have been going on rides together when weather permits.
Catherine just finished year 7, her first year of high school. The new environment and routine were an adjustment for her. She also had the challenge of becoming a teenager and navigating this new phase of her life at the same time. She has been a wonderful companion on trips and outings to Sydney, the theatre, farmers market, movies, shopping and bubble tea.
Phil and I have gone a little greener after purchasing electric bikes for ourselves. We also bought our neighbour’s Nissan Leaf which replaced our X-trail. We’ve found bike riding more enjoyable again although I have not ridden since I got swooped by a magpie (for the first time ever). I love that we can just ride to our local shops to run errands without having to use our cars. The electric car has been great too. I’ve felt much better about driving around, especially since we must drive a bit further away to drop off and pick up Nicholas.
Our biggest undertaking this year was moving Mom to Australia. It was one of the hardest things we’ve done. We only had a couple of months after the decision was made. Then we had 2 weeks to pack up Mom’s house. After she flew back to Canberra with us, it was another 2 months of coordinating the sale of her Alhambra home. It was a rollercoaster of feelings. It’s been 8 months since the move and a huge adjustment for all of us. Things are a little more settled, but I suspect it will take a long time before Mom will be comfortable to call Australia home. It’s been good being able to take her out to places to eat and explore. She’s expressed many times how she’s in awe of Canberra’s natural environment.
We had some amazing travel, including Phil going around the world again for work. He took the first and second longest commercial flights in the world. Both flights were around 18 hours on Singapore Airlines. He was away for his birthday and with the help of modern technology, I had donuts delivered to his hotel via Uber Eats. It was amazing to be able to track the driver on my phone from the other side of the world. Queenstown, New Zealand was our favourite international destination and in Australia we saw new beautiful places like Hyams Beach, Rottnest Island and Byron Bay.
So here is our photo montage of moments from 2023 and our Best of list. We hope you've had some memorable times that have given you much joy. Thanks for reading and being part of our journey. Happy New Year!
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| 2023 photo montage |
Best of 2023
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