A sort of bittersweet anniversary with Pakjesavond come and gone.... we still miss our adopted home very much, and there will be so much of us that will be forever left and tied up in the Netherlands and Europe in general. Colleagues and close friends who we are likely to never see again....

... this time last year, we were in the home stretch of leaving Europe for good. We were spending last moments with families and friends... in the midst of an Omicron outbreak.... and sadly, due to the same outbreak, we weren't able to see and farewell everyone that we wanted to. Some of our closest friends got ill just before we were due to spend our last Christmas in Europe with them, a tradition that we had followed for years as we were two families far from our extended families.

Our children were saying their farewells to the friends that they had grown up with... and the teachers that they loved dearly. It was a teary and heartfelt few weeks for all of us. Lots of beautiful moments, and quite a few moments of a father trying to hold it together in public. In fact, just writing about it still brings a lump to my throat...

... the missed class farewell, as Corona swept through the class of our older child. A regretted decision to have moved it back by a week to fit in with school plans....

... the moving of all of our stuff in the house, sleeping in a house that was nearly empty, a place full of fond and happy memories, a place that had looked after us for so long.

... but we had committed to a new chapter in our lives, and as painful as it was (and still is...), I am still convinced that it was the best thing for the longer term. Being closer to extended family had been the overriding aim for quite some time... with each passing year, we felt the distance more and more keenly... with each missed family gathering, each missed celebration.... and some potential scares.

One year later... we seem to be well established in a much shorter time frame than we had thought possible... sure, we have had some missteps.. Australia is a slightly different place to what I remember... or perhaps, I have led a weird life that was sheltered away from strange people and "businesses".

It appears that there are more people that are more interested in the "Mexican standoff" version of society rather than an intrinsic good version... and to that, my wife and I have now decided to distance ourselves from any organisations and people that resemble that sort of thing. We will just stick to playing music well... and let that speak for itself.... any politics, contracts, and all the the rest of that mediocre crap can just stay with the people who are interested in peddling that sort of thing. We will just stay aloof and not engage with any of it... besides, we are no good at it anyway!

So, we have spent our last few weeks following the Dutch Sinterklaasjournal... with our older child helping to keep the illusion alive for the younger one. Laying out the shoes occasionally to get a little gift... and finally, with Pakjesavond last night. We had a lovely little celebrating with our little family away from Netherlands...

... and the cousins of our girls have started asking about this new tradition... and suggesting that it would be a great idea for all of our families to start doing it too... definitely not for the extra little goodies that they would rake in!

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