We suddenly realised this week that our 3 year anniversary had been and gone without us even noticing, and what a fantastic ride it has been so far.....so we thought we'd shared some of our rambling thoughts (in no particular order) to mark the occasion
In the past 12 months we've hopped from North Island to the South Island and now we've got past the first few months of re-settling into a new area, we are exitedly planning a road trip around this beautiful island next summer holiday.....the feet are itching and it's time for some exploration
We still need to get our fingers out and sort out our house build, but we've been incredibly busy with, well....life, so progress is slower than we'd planned. Not complaining however as we now live in a really lovely rental and if we haven't mentioned it before, then we must add that having a woodburner and heating again after 3 winters without any has been a massive improvement in our comfort level. It's hard to appreciate just how much difference living in a warm dry house makes to your quality of life, and how much time we've got back now we are not bogged down with the daily practicalities of weeping windows, drying laundry and mouldy bathrooms.
Another thought springs to mind with all of this reflection (and a good helping of wine).....after 3 years we are well and truely past the 'honeymoon period' now. We've become more aware of the short-comings this country still has, and yet we still feel that it is a fab place to bring up our young children. Nowhere in the world is perfect and it helps to accept where you live, warts and all. We remember the reasons why we decided to leave the UK and yet we can still see many positive things about the country, such as the history and all things old & historical.
Anyway, we've sort of concluded that moving here was definitely still the right thing for us to do. We were craving a new adventure and a chance to explore another part of this planet, and were lucky enough that we could.....we've not been disappointed