We spent the twenty seventh day of the new year touring a couple of beachy towns along the coast. Some we'd visited before and some we hardly knew existed.

Towing our caravan behind us, pulling up when we felt like it, walking around, drinking coffee, discovering history, visiting the op-shops, paddling in the water, coming back to change and have a rest, reading bits of books, knitting rows, fighting over the mirror, making everything sandy, sharing cookies, slipping back into old and familiar and lovely routines.

Even though it's been ages, we couldn't help but notice how easy-breezy it all was. Even though some of us are so much bigger than last time, we couldn't help but fall in love with the road tripping way of life. And even though we have overseas plans for this year, we couldn't help but wonder if we should scrap them in favour of a trip up the east coast. Possibly starting today. There was the most gorgeous caravan park just up from where we were...and we have friends in the next town...

On the way home I thought a lot about it all, what it all means and what we should do with it. For some reason I can't get out of my head how speedy time feels at the moment, and how much we need to make the most of all our situations and decisions.

But when we came home, even though it was blowing an unsettling gale, I immediately remembered why we keep choosing this life. I had that gift of seeing home with fresh eyes and I fell in love with it all over again. It may not be the cruisey, spontaneous, sandy life that we have on the road, it may include small doses of angst as we get ready to go back to the school routine his week, and it may have the realities of house work and deadlines and responsibilities. BUT it has orchards of plums and apples ripe for the picking, it has animals to visit and hang out with, it is surrounded by forests to explore and admire, it has my parents at the bottom of our hill, it has our town and our community not five minutes away, it has veggie gardens to work in and eat from, it has baskets and bowls of produce on the kitchen table, and it has all sorts of other bits that we love.

It's really nice to get away, but it's so lovely to return too.


Wishing you a bit of fun with your what-ifs.


Lots-a-love,

Kate xx