It felt like the longest 9 months ever.
Dad was able to get to Darwin for a 4 day weekend in late August after he and Mum went through Adelaide to help the Cookskis move into their beautiful new house. Mum had to race straight back to Sydney to start her final semester of her Arts degree. It was an emotional reunion. There has been so much uncertainty this year. There still is. Our grandparents remain stuck in Melbourne with support from the few family and friends who have been allowed to give it. The Croskis are far flung and at risk in Europe. Our nephew Will has spent his year 12 stuck in the nest rather than learning to fly and his 18th birthday went by only quietly acknowledged. But these hugs were grounding and we felt reconnected with the family even though we only had one member with us.
We had Father's Day Greek and swam and played and ate and watched the sun set over the water from our holiday apartment.
After that we were able to get on with our term 3 with a little more contentment. When we look around we can see we have made some lovely friends here. People to laugh with and hang with and (most importantly) bitch and moan with. This was particularly evident at Amy's 40th birthday party where the neon 80s theme was embraced with enthusiasm. I was proud of my cake contribution!
We were finally, gloriously reunited with Mum and the Cookskis in September. Jess and the kids flew up to Darwin to meet us and enjoy some warm weather.
This is how we felt about it:
Travelling from NT to SA was a complex process with masks and a stop off in Alice with at each stage the sensation of passing through customs. It took most of the day but it was totally worth it.
Waiting for us at Jessi's sandstone and bluestone dream of Adelaide's architecture, were Mum and Dad. This time was just about being together. We went to the park and Bunnings and just hung out cooking and gardening at casa de Cookski. No one is more impressed by the small family achievements than Raine and the grandchildren lapped it up!
We did have one grand adventure doing the high ropes course in the city park. It was misty and drizzly but absolutely beautiful in this forest corner of the Adelaide Parklands. Mum and Dad both gave the course a good go but Mum was particularly adventurous completing a couple of courses. I have never been on such long zip lines. It was such enormous fun. The two big kids were able to participate on the adult course (Zoe a full 5mm above the height restriction). Luca raced ahead through everything and Zoe very largely kept up with him only slowing down for the most difficult course. She was an absolute champion, persevering through the most challenging parts with quiet confidence. The three little ones had an awesome time on the kids course which was a huge achievement for them. It was about 5m off the ground and still required significant coordination and bravery. We were so proud of them! Poor Ed missed out on this as he was recovering form some minor surgery following a rather nasty skin infection (MRSA took him from insect bite to carbuncle in a week for those interested in the details!) but he was a great cheer squad and supplier of hot chocolates to those finishing up early. Even Steve got there in time to see the kids finishing up their course which was a bonus.
Mum and Dad headed back to Sydney while we stayed on in Adelaide. Jess found one other family activity to keep us busy so we spent a morning at the old Adelaide jail searching for little toy prisoners carrying lettered clues.
We managed to catch up with a few old Adelaide friends. Sarah brought her kids over to play while we caught up over a cuppa. We were spoiled by Charlotte and Ann and heard about their family's covid experience in the UK which sounded so stressful. Fiona and Jim cooked us their pasta alla crab so we can bring the skill back to apply to the Maningrida mudcrabs!
And so we come back to Maningrida for the 4th school term really buoyed. The work is so stimulating and we feel increasingly a part of the community who call out and wave as we ride our bikes around town. We just had an impromptu movie night with the kids over the road and a couple of their visiting cousins and they were boisterous and delightful.
The gaps in our hearts are puttied up but we are still to embrace our grandparents about whom we have been very worried this year. The Auzins side of the family have yet to be reunited including poor Ilga and Yvette in Melbourne. And our Wamboin family are still sorely missed. We know we are so lucky to be here though and relieved to have got this far through the pandemic without a serious threat of it impacting us here in this vulnerable community. So we try to embrace the experience and look forward to lots of hugs at Christmastime!
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