“Home Is Where The Heart Is”

I left my home of four decades, a year ago today. Moving home is an undertaking, let alone moving a world away

This is unfiltered honesty, words intended to be sincere. There's little in life you can be an expert in, only within a year

Being far away instigates reflecting on your leap of faith. All the past challenges, the support and choices that got you to this stage

Immersed in a country that's a continent, with subtropical flora and fauna. It’s no exaggeration to say everything here, has a different type of aura

Samoans, Tongans, Aboriginals, Maori, peoples treated with cruel mystery. I'm learning and open to our similarities, embracing our shared histories

It's been beautiful, it's been stressful, it's been a journey of health, faith and acknowledged fear. Most importantly though I'm grateful to say, I truly love it here

Brisbane birds don't tweet or sing, they banter, cackle and laugh. Casual kangaroo and koala road signs remind you just where you are

No London pigeons, or tiny feathered flocks, this is the land of the long-beaked Ibis. Casually strolling by with authority, what in the Jurassic Park is this...?!

Huge bats come out at dusk, flapping their large wings, you see but never hear. Don't judge those of the Bruce Wayne persuasion, it's certainly not an irrational fear

Farewell to TFL, Tesco, morning Metro, M&S and Sainsbury's, gone are casual hi's and bye's in tracksuits on local high streets

No more late night bops to corner shops, cheeky bus hops, or tube stops. Westfield malls and local plazas are now the optional lot

Trips "up the road" require four wheels, is a mean feat for two feet, let alone anyone attempting two heels

Normally a no-breeze type of brother, now cooling off with aircon and letting down the convertible-top, wind in face, its a different type of hot

In a new Timezone, the best words you see on your phone are simply, "how are you?" These days people, "hope you're well" so your "how are you?" crew, become more precious to you

The most important decision you can make in life is whom you choose as your spouse. Love and respect certainly make a happy home, but togetherness makes a thriving house

In life you have no control over the end of things, only where the start is. It's always the journey that makes it all so special, just like accepting that home is where the heart is