Images by John 'K'

Half of our house, lots of our memories, and all the stuff that’ll help us make a home, have all been packed and crammed into a 20ft container over the past 2 days. It’s now on its long journey to California, where we’ll be reunited with all of it in about 7 weeks time.

It’s been a struggle getting to this point. A struggle I feel bad that I didn’t contribute more towards, but even had I done more during my time in the UK, the bulk of the work would still have been in the hands of those I love.

Now of course, payback time comes when it’s all at the new house and it’ll be me who has to deal with all of the unpacking under the watchful eyes of those who helped pack it all up, but do I care – NO. I’ll have my family with me. OK, so I know Gemma’s not stopping with us (but who knows – she may change her mind about that), but for a short time we’ll all be together, and after Gemma goes back to the UK to the extended family and friends who will all help her, Jan Sarah Paula and I can start on this new phase in our lives.

So to all of you back in the UK, thanks for pulling together when it was needed and getting us to this point. Remember it’s all leading towards something you all wanted to do. The decision to move wasn’t mine; I just gave the opportunity. You wanted this new life and you’ve helped make it happen!

So take some time to recover from the past few days, and then try and have some fun while you can. Also, take some time to make peace and heal some of the wounds that were inflicted and suffered during the last few days. It was a stressful time, and stressful times tend to bring out things that should ideally not see the light of day. Lets not let them spoil what we have as a family. 

I’ll be back there at the end of July, and then we can take the next big step on our journey together.

Love you all.

John/Dad