Mama Downunder: Always look on the bright side

Expat life can be pretty tough. Much though I love our life here under the Australian sun, with all the opportunities this country provides, the amazing friendships we’ve built and the breathtaking scenery we get to enjoy each and every day, we’re always two long haul flights away from home.

Two long haul flights, a car journey and a ferry in my case. That’s 40 hours door to door. 40 hours away from parents, from grandparents, from siblings, from friends raising their children, from weddings and births and just simple hugs that will never really be simple because every moment you spend together is extra special.

There’s extreme happiness, linked so closely to extreme sadness. You have, and then you have not. That can be pretty tough.

But against that there is a lot of beauty. This country really is amazing, and we are so privileged to be able to call this place home. On top of that, we are lucky to have flexible careers, to be able to work from anywhere in the world, to be able to take our children on long holidays and – if you add it up – spend a lot more quality time with our families than we would if we lived in the same country and saw eachother on weekends, rather than in holidays.

Last month was one of those holidays, spent at Seal Rocks and in Port Stephens. The weather was glorious, and we got to enjoy long days at the beach, followed by gorgeous sunsets, barbeques and campfires. Spending every minute of every day together for such a long period of time has been simply wonderful.

Here are some of these memories that will last a lifetime...