The Home Stretch

I’ve only got three more weeks left living in London. Everyone knows how sad I am to be leaving so I won’t go on about it, but nothing has changed and I still don’t want to go. I have my feet firmly entrenched in grief mode where I’m imagining they’re going to stay for a while.

I’ve already said a few goodbyes to friends I won’t see again until either they visit Sydney or I come back to London and they were all distressing. I’ve always been really crap at goodbyes and every time someone leaves I turn into one of those blubbering idiots at the airport. (You can read about that here).

I’m a very sentimental person anyway but at the moment I’m even worse – things like going to the GP I find emotional. The other day I was there with one of the kids and as I left I found myself thinking that’s the last time I’ll probably see Dr Mangwana and hear him bleat on about cricket (when I couldn’t give a shit about cricket) … but I’ll miss it anyway because it’s unlikely I’ll ever see him again.

How frickin ridiculous is that?

I have quite a few people in my life who’ve lived abroad and found it just as difficult as I’m finding it to return home again – and lately they’ve been an absolute godsend. I don’t feel like I’m losing my mind and overreacting about leaving because they felt the same way. But they’ve settled back into Australia and tell me it will take a year or two. Which is forever. I don’t want to be unhappy and really hope my life in Sydney will be as happy as it is here, I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

So the time is flying by and in a couple of short weeks I’ll be saying some seriously difficult goodbyes to people who’ve been a huge fixture in my life for a long time now … and I’m absolutely dreading it. Sydney is just such a bloody long way from London and visits are going to be very few and far between. I mean, only a desperado would attempt to run a marathon in order to justify a trip back here next year.

However having said all that – I know my sentimentality is getting a little out of control. It was completely evident this morning when I blocked traffic to stop in the middle of the road to photograph this through teary eyes.

Getting all emotional when spotting the England tour bus was just what I needed to snap me back to reality. Although I love England and adore London to bits, even I’ll draw the line at feeling nostalgic over the English rugby team.

So I put my phone down, wiped my tears and reminded myself “The Lions absolutely did not deserve to win that game last saturday”.

I am Australian after all and my loyalty definitely stops at sporting level.

GO WALLABIES!