Night Writing

I've been doing a bit of writing recently and as this is a blog about writing...that's probably a good thing!

When I was living in England, I had less time on my hands.  Working, redecorating a house ready for rental, looking after 3 children, keeping up with family and friends and trying to find some time for myself - all when my husband was in Australia.  It  meant I was pretty busy...verging on headless chicken busy!!  Now I'm here in Australia,  I find I have much more time on my hands.  Lots of people would think that's great, but it can be a struggle to start with when you leave behind a busy life.

So, what do you do?  The house is empty, the kids are settled in school, you don't know people yet and suddenly you aren't working.  As a person who likes to be active, I have felt at a lose end at times and it has taken time to adjust.  Don't get me wrong - I'm starting to really enjoy it here, but writing has helped me work through things and given me an opportunity for self expression.  I keep note books and currently have 2 going in my handbag.  I keep a journal which helps with thoughts that flow like streams of consciousness.  I write short stories or snippets that I observe.  And I have also joined a blog course run by Suzi Poland.  Now, for those who know me well, trying to get a blog going is a huge technological step for me!  So, Suzi, thank you for your patience!  I have really enjoyed your class and the supportive, creative side it has brought out in me and the other lovely women doing it.

So, writing a blog or a journal or whatever...you would think I had all the time in the world to do this now, but when there's a beautiful beach beckoning, you have to feel in the mood.  So how do you start?  A smell reminds you of something, someone says something, a thought grabs your attention or you just wake in the middle of the night and feel compelled to write something.  I was sending emails at 3 am a few nights ago!!  Those early hours have a magical quality about them and for me it is when you are at your most thoughtful.  You wake and can't get back to sleep. Perhaps it's the light of the full moon keeping you awake, or an animal digging outside your window.  Perhaps you just wake and feel so awake that you lie there, eyes wide open, listening to the stillness.  At 3am there is a gentle rhythm in the house; people sleeping, a clock ticking, the fridge clicking on and off.  And the house itself feels alive.  You get up and sit with cuppa in the living room.  You look at the embers where the fire burnt bright 6 hours ago and when the kids were noisily getting ready for bed.  You feel how different a room can feel with only you sitting in it, quietly savouring the peace. Then you pick up a pen, open a page and write.  Your hand moves rapidly and before you know, it's 5.30 am.  Bed calls and your eyes feel tired now, but you know you will stay awake til the first light.

So what's in those pages? Thoughts about friendships missed at home and new friendships blossoming here.  Musings about how wonderfully supportive women can be.  Moments in time that capture the beauty of this place.  Descriptions of some of the things you have done and hope to do, some of the frustrations and problems you've come across and above all thoughts about how it all feels living in a new country.  And when you close your book you know that you have captured a moment in time that is recorded forever.

It is spring here and I have never been so bombarded with wonderful smells.  The jasmine has appeared in every hedgerow along our road and early in the morning as the sun is rising, or in the evening at dusk, it is intoxicating.  My daughter put a whole bunch of it in a pot and left it on our  kitchen table and now our whole kitchen smells of spring.  There have been some ups and downs coming here, but it's the people and experiences (and the weather, of course!) that make a place, and so far I haven't been disappointed.

Thoughts from the Edge

I moved out to Australia with my family nearly 4 months ago to the day.  It was a decision centred around my husband's career and as I was happily settled where I was in the UK, it was not an easy move.  Before you think "oh no, not another expat diary," fret no more.  This is a blog about what me and my family see and experience in a new place.  It could be anywhere.  My view is that new experiences help you see things through fresh eyes.  I talked about being creative and getting children to be creative in my previous blog. I'd like to describe experiences I have here creatively, to capture passing thoughts, snippets of time and visual moments that really stand out. I'd also like to encourage my children to do this too.  A new country and new experiences is a fantastic way to harness that creative side in you.

So here are two moments that really made an impression on me so far.  I was walking back from the shops with my son.  He was on his bike and I had a shopping bag that I was carrying so I was behind him.  As he reached the brow of the hill leading onto our road, he stopped to look at something on the tarmac.  I remember seeing his silhouette bathed in rays of sunlight and the shadows of gum trees quivering over the street.  I remember looking up at the intense blue of the sky and the multitude shades of green in the leaves and on the hills across the bay.  It was the first time I had stopped and realised we were a long way from the grey skies I was used to at home and I felt the world open up in front of me.

We had gone for a late afternoon walk as a family.  It had been a clear, sunny day but the temperature was dropping as the sun started to disappear behind the hills.  We climbed a headland as the light started to fade.  In the open we could still see clearly, but as the path wound through the bush, the disappearing light made it harder to see in front of us.  At the top, we came to an open grassy area with a viewing point out to sea.  The children rolled down the hill and played, but I stopped and walked away from them a bit, to have my own moment and looked out across the darkening sea.  It was beautiful and calming, but I also felt exposed, and had a sudden feeling of being on the edge.  Physically I was on the edge of this headland which was on the edge of a city, and this headland was on the edge of a continent on the edge of the world.  But I also felt on the edge, on the edge of a new community, a new country and not yet within its walls.  I felt a momentary longing to be home, safe and comfortable.  But that passed and a feeling of excitement at the adventure ahead replaced it.  We walked back down onto the beach.  It was dark by this time and the children went over and watched the fishermen.  My husband and I walked over some rocks jutting out in the sea and looked out into the blackness.  The final red glow of the sun went down behind the hills and as it did, the tip of the moon appeared on the horizon out at sea.  A light in the vast gloom.  Slowly, a huge full moon rose out of the sea and as its light trickled over the horizon, we realised we were watching something incredible on the edge of the earth.  Finally its full shape came into view, a faceless disc hanging still over the sea, dominating the sky and as I stood on the edge for the second time, I felt it was watching me....or watching over me.