Melbourne...Already?

We only had three days between us arriving from Bali and Noah and I flying back to Melbourne. The decision to fly to Melbourne came about after talking to Noah’s year 7 coordinator who suggested not to miss out on orientation, after all, knowing at least where the toilets are in a new school is very important.

So we flew in the middle of the night, arrived in Melbourne first thing in the morning, the meaning of “red eye” deal becoming quite apparent, especially when I saw myself in the mirror, never mind, we got there and mum was waiting for us at the airport… on a cold, cloudy, summer day, of course.

Before leaving Perth, I clearly recall a conversation with Carlos when he asked me how I was feeling about going back to Melbourne, at that particular moment I was not really sure how I felt and that was the truth, but as I sat in the car, being driven through peak hour morning traffic through the crowded noisy Melbourne city, I must admit the feeling of sadness was most compelling. As exhausted as we both were, Noah’s excitement of seeing his friends overcame any signs of fatigue that he may have had and an hour after landing I drove him to school.

He was very nervous, I could hear his heartbeat just by walking next to him, I walked him to his class and the few kids that we came across on the way there that recognised him just whispered in disbelief that Noah Morin was back. I only walked him upstairs, he did ask me if he could go in by himself so l let him, but from where I was standing I could hear the clapping, the cheering and excitement of his class having him back.

Meantime, in my own little world I had a few things to organise as I was working the following the day and I didn’t even have shoes, most importantly I had to metamorphose from bush woman to working woman. I had organised to stay with family friends, a dear friend indeed named Margarita and her husband Anselmo, not only did they open their house to us but also she let me use her Yoga studio for work, I could not thank them enough.

That night we were exhausted and to my surprise I was booked out the following day, in fact, I was quite busy during the three weeks that I was there. Regarding my work I must say it was a very pleasant surprise to be so busy, it was really nice to see old faces and honestly I did miss everyone. Amongst many blessing, in my life I am truly blessed to do something that is not only rewarding but also I love doing.

And just like that I was back working but also I had to catch up on appointments regarding Noah’s high school, catching up with friends I have not seen in 10 months, my neighbours, I had to move some furniture I had in storage, I helped mum with her fundraiser and by the second week I was quite overwhelmed and conflicted. Feeling that way was disappointing for me, the truth is, that, in the past 10 months I have lived a life of appreciation, reflection and gratitude, a life with a pace that is so slow that it feels like everything you do is in slow motion and when everything is at that pace you experience and see life in a different way, sunsets, nature, people, food, so I was disappointed to think that it took me 10 months to become a chilled out/carefree woman and it took only a week to get back right where I started! After a couple of days reflecting on this emotion, my conclusion is that life in a city will always have a fast pace but it is the decisions which we choose to make that will make that pace faster or manageable.

Second week in we had mum’s fundraiser on, which was selling our traditional Salvadoran food to raise funds for mum’s cause which is medical equipment for Dandenong Hospital.

I take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped out but specially Mr and Mrs Bermudez, Mr and Mrs Rivera, dad, my sister, brother and their partners. Mum’s goal was $4000, she had raised over $2000 already but by the end of the day she achieved it, never seen mum so excited, she could not believe she had done it.

One thing she did say to me is that when she started fun raising the actual process to reach such an amount seemed impossible, I always tried to reassured her but just like the hike to Kilimanjaro, it’s the journey not the destination.

The fundraiser highlighted very special people in my life or just in life in general who would just say YES to helping others unconditionally, the world is a better place because of people like this.

During our second week Noah got to see his god parents and god sisters (4 of them!) he takes his role as “big godbrother” very seriously, actually also his role as big cousin to my niece and nephews seriously.

Before flying back to Melbourne he made it clear to me that he really wanted to catch up with all his god sisters and so we did and he had a blast!

By our third week we had caught on the pace and rhythm of city life, mornings before school we went swimming (well I just watched) as Noah joined the swimming squad for high school, my work kept me busy and during the evenings we enjoyed some one on one catch-up time.

This trip to Melbourne was really all about Noah, he got to spend time with his friends who he missed dearly, he got to be a senior student even if it was only for three weeks, he reconnected with his cousins and his enthusiasm with the swimming squad demonstrated nothing but readiness for high school.

During my time in Melbourne I received praise for Noah from the school teachers and principal and we could not be any more delighted, as a parent, that is all you hope for, a well balanced kid. On that note we are extremely happy on how the school has kept in touch and assisted us through this year. St John Vianney’s have supported us 100% and we are extremely thankful for that.

Meanwhile, back in Perth Josh and Raf had a party with Dad, I kept getting photos of them eating ice cream and having lots of fun.

Carlos reconnected with an old colleague from work that now lives in Mandurah so they spend some time together and the kids really enjoyed their company, another family we would absolutely love to keep in touch.

On Saturday the 1st we flew back to Perth, Noah heartbroken as he wanted to stay for graduation, I could only tell him to trust us and our decisions and that one day he will thank us ….so I hope.