Today is our second Easter Sunday in New Zealand. We watched a shimmering gold sunrise on the sea through the Kauri trees, listened to bird calls in the dead-still forest, had a gentle, leisurely breakfast and contemplated our blessings.
I am glad we are over the one-year milestone, which was a bitter-sweet bump, and now we listen to the gentle hum of our days. The last two months were among the happiest I can remember in a long time. “Pinch me! Pinch me!” I want to yell. Things can’t possibly be this... lovely.
We feel we have integrated fully in our community and that has helped speed along the at-home feeling. Of course, living in a spectacular area helps, but establishing friendships and playing a role in community life has brought us a sense of belonging we didn’t expect to get so soon. We have found it by volunteering at the kids’ schools, planting school gardens and going to working bees and community meetings. To me it feels like “This is what my life is meant to look like”.
