The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

I love this place.

It’s probably my favourite place of all the places I’ve ever lived.

Of course, being able to have any home is a total privilege … so having one you really love is bordering on obscene. I get that.

And it’s obscene how much I love this place.

The fact it’s built into the trees.

That it’s surrounded by nature.

That it has outside decks on multiple floors.

That it’s close to work and yet feels a million miles away.

And then there’s the fact we bought it without having seen it – or even being in the country – which just makes it feel like we won the lottery. Except we paid a shitload for the ticket, haha.

So knowing one day we’ll leave it makes it all the more difficult.

Of course we don’t know when, but it will happen.

And while we’ve talked about trying to build an exect replica wherever we end up next … we know even if it was identical, it wouldn’t be the same.

Because a home is more than those walls.

It’s the environment. The surrounding area. The community. The moment in time.

Which is why I especially love the top pic.

Because while it doesn’t show much, it shows just enough.

A big steel door that holds a warm, inviting shelter.

A place where my family could blossom again after the challenges of covid.

A building where my son, wife and cat could connect to the privilege of living in New Zealand.

In many ways, it’s the most ‘family’ home we’ve had.

I don’t mean that in terms of size, but in our connection to it … which given we’ve lived in other places for far longer is testimony to what it means to us.

What New Zealand has done for us.

What Colenso made happen for us.

Leaving it will be terribly, terribly hard.