I took this photo 6 years ago not far from our new home. We’ll be walking back through that land again… this time with much taller children!

My loves,

A few months ago I shared with you our news that we had decided to move back to Canberra. This will be our third time living in Canberra – our first was as a young couple and second as a family with young kids. We lasted 5 years away the first time, 6 years away the second time. It’s a special homeland for us.

The next part of the adventure has unfolded, and I wanted to record it here and share it with you because it’s been such a miracle.

Goddess photoshoot at Lake Burley Griffin, 2006

We’ve been looking at property for most of this year, and it was by far the most frustrating and long-winded housing search we’ve had. That’s saying something considering it was for our 10th house in 14 years! For many, many months we couldn’t find a single house that met our requirements.

Looking back, I think that was down to two reasons:
1. Obv, the housing crisis that’s hitting so many countries globally.
2. We were being too strict with our search parameters.

I’m still glad we’ve had this journey though – I think it’s taught us patience, and led us to where we need to be.


Me, 18 years ago

Originally when we started looking, we decided that one of our kids would be going to a well-regarded public high school that has a very strict catchment area. One of my best mates lives in that catchment, and her kids go to the same school, so I thought it was the simplest, best solution.

But then… we couldn’t find a house to rent or buy that worked in the area. The catchment area suburbs has smaller homes and block sizes, and is super expensive due to its proximity to the city.  We knew we needed single level because my back shits itself on the regular and I can’t manage stairs during those flare-ups, and enough room for my husband and I to work from home.

My first studio in Canberra

It’s interesting, because at the same time, our kid was telling us that she didn’t actually really *want* to go to that school. Her whole life she’s been in small schools (her primary school had 50 kids total, and her current school has 400 across both primary and high). When we were looking at a high school with 1,000+ students, it felt too overwhelming for her.

Usually we get our kids to collaborate and co-sign on the big decisions in their lives, but  I wasn’t listening this time. This might surprise you (ha!) but I’m quite headstrong and determined, and when I feel like I’ve locked and loaded a decision, I don’t usually revisit it. Thank goodness I have a husband who is sensitive enough to listen to our kids, and strong enough to push back on decisions when they aren’t right.


During our homeschooling time in Canberra, collecting autumn leaves

Once I wasn’t so fixated on one school, it felt like all my blinkers were off, and I could see the wide expanse of freedom and possibility again. We realised it was better for us to look for a private school that fit what our kids wanted, and pay the private school fees because they were cheaper than a higher mortgage from buying in the catchment area suburb anyway!

And what we realised was the next right thing was for the girls to go back to the smaller alternative school there that our eldest used to attend. Both kids were totally on board with the decision, and it felt aligned. Our enrolment interviews were positively delightful, and I was so impressed by both the deputy principals.

On a friend’s farm near Canberra

So with all the options opened up to us again, we surveyed all the suburb possibilities and housing options. Again, we couldn’t find what we were looking for. We knew we were getting closer, but we weren’t quite there yet. Eventually, my husband asked me if we should consider moving back to the small estate we’ve lived in previously and loved. It’s quiet, surrounded by beautiful nature walks and views to the beloved Brindabella mountain range. It’s further out of the city than we were originally looking, but we felt like it was worth it for what we could get there.

But again: there were literally NO houses for sale in there.

That night, I went to bed and prayed:

For me, I have found that in prayer, it works best for me to ask questions instead of demand things. Instead of saying “MAKE IT WORK”, I ask “What can I do differently to help it work?”

It feels less forceful to me, and reminds me to be open to doing things differently.

That night, I received a simple little message back from my guides:

Post in the Facebook group of the estate.

I thought it was a slightly odd idea, but trusted it anyway. And the next morning, I did. I explained we had already lived in the estate, and that we’d like to buy there again, but there wasn’t anything available on the market. I asked anyone who was looking to sell in the next 6 months to reach out to me.

Art journal page, Canberra, 2005

Within hours, I had four messages of people looking to sell, and two of the houses fit what we were looking for.

Delighted, I told my husband. And here’s where the beauty of co-creation comes in.

He asked me to message a friend of mine who lived in the estate just to ask how the estate was going.

I’d met this friend in a serendipitous way years ago – I was walking around the Old Bus Depot Markets (an icon in Canberra), and she had a stall there selling beautiful soy candles. She recognised me because she loved my workbooks, and we totally hit it off, yapping away at a million miles a minute. And then we realised we lived around the corner from each other in the same small estate. I love when that happens! So we became friends, and I visited her house when we lived there.

My love on a Canberra bushwalk, 2006

So I reached out to Carrie to let her know we were coming back, and asked her if there were any major changes to the estate as we were looking to buy in there again. And her response was:

“Oh, that’s funny… we’re looking to sell our house this year.”

And of course, her house was the exact size we were looking for, with an enormous deck that we could see ourselves laying out like lizards on to soak up the sun, and a huge backyard with a veggie patch.

So we made an offer, and they accepted.

We joke that we’re basically a copy and paste family for hers – she’s a hippy business owner with an IT musician husband, just like us. Her two creative daughters went to the same alternative school as our two creative daughters are going to. They are just further along the journey than us, with grown up kids who’ve flown the nest and gone on to do amazingly cool things.

It really does feel like the most magical, serendipitous way we’ve ever bought a house before.

Journal page made in Canberra, 2006

Our new home is just around the corner from our old home we sold 6 years ago. Chris’ cousin and his family (with two daughters close to our girls age) lives just around the other corner. We’ll be close again to some of my oldest and dearest friends. We’ll be surrounded by art galleries and libraries and and bushwalks through some of the most magical land I’ve ever walked on. I can’t wait to re-introduce my teen and tween to the joys of exhibitions and concerts and city cultural attractions. It feels like another grand adventure, another chapter in the love story that is life.

Canberra has been such good fertile ground for creativity for me before…

We’re finishing up the school year here, and heading off in November. We’ll drive our way down through the inland route, the same way we drove in 21 years ago when we first moved to Canberra, full of young love and wanderlust. And, as magic and miracles go, we’ll arrive back in Canberra on my 42nd birthday. It feels like the best gift I could receive. Douglas Adam’s famously said that the answer to the mystery of the universe is 42, and that feels potent and true.

In Canberra’s Brindabella mountains on my birthday 18 years ago

I’m excited to see how our live will change and bloom in new and old and different ways when we’re back in that beautiful land.

And I’m so so grateful that I got to be here too, in all of this. It all feels like such a deep and dear gift. From the tropical seas to the alpine mountains and beyond, this earth is holy and I adore her.

Thank you for sharing it all with me.

With love, as always,

🦄 FREE GOODIES 🦄

 

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