Home away from home

A week back from Oz and already feeling the pangs. For Oz? Yes. For here? Yes. Confusing? Definitely!

They say that home is where the heart is, but what if the heart is split and the loyalties are evenly divided?

My guy is here, my friends are here, my life is here, my work is here. My family is there, my friends are there, my life is there, my history is there. More years spent there than here, but I'm not sure that really matters. Ideally, my guy and I would spend alternating three months in both places - winter and summer in Winnipeg, spring and autumn in Sydney. Of course, you need money to do that sort of thing, so not right now, but perhaps down the line ...

Funny how when I go back there, I slip right in as if I'd never been away. The family is always the priority - well, other than the Aussie bush and the chocolate - and the first port of all. Come down for dinner, stay a few days, can you help me with my homework, wanna play Snakes and Ladders, this is my new boyfriend, I can drive now and I'm taller than Mum, let's go shopping, let's go to the movies, let's go for a walk, anyone for a cuppa? Life as we know it.

Friends are the same, although this time some of them went one step further with a belated 50th birthday sleepover that involved little sleep, much laughter and frivolity, and some Aussie swag, lollies and biscuits - that's souvenirs, candy and cookies for those unfamiliar with Oz lingo.

This last trip, there was more time to see relatives I'd missed on previous visits, to catch up with people on several occasions, to travel further than before (and more often, given that I had a car the entire six weeks - thanks, Howard!), to get my website updated (thanks, Peter!), to stock up on chocolate and other assorted treats (enough to fill almost an entire suitcase!!!!!), and to just sit and chat. A very relaxed and successful trip. Thanks to everyone for adjusting your schedules and making time for me!

By the way, those of you who have experienced the idiosyncrasies of both countries will be happy to know that I still got confused from time to time with the light switches, windscreen wipers, money, and crossing the streets, but I have mastered the art of driving on both sides of the road - not at the same time, of course!

Ultimately, you know you are at home in a place when you can slot right in regardless of how long you've been gone. And since I generally manage a return visit every year or so, I guess I'm never really gone from either place for very long at all.

For now, wherever I am, it's my home away from home, and that's just fine with me! But if I get that chance to split my time, well, that will be a whole other story ...