It’s the first working day of the new year. 2024 ended so very differently for Tress and I. After almost 20 years, we left Melbourne. We now live in Canberra.

In the first few week since we arrived, instead of my usual weekday runs, I have gone on walks with Tress, and the little fellow. We walked through the neighbourhood paths of Duffy, Rivett, Stirling, Holder and Chapman – the suburbs that are part of the Weston Creek area of Canberra. I visited a dentist over a week ago and she said things moved slower here and we should expect this as we are now in a “rural area”. The pace is slower but I will take that easily. The spaces around us, the trees, the birds – they all add up to provide a more serene feel about things. People aren’t as rushed and are happy to just let things be.

This is actually the second time I’d be living in this Bush Capital. The fist stab was some 10 years ago. Kiddo and I rented an apartment in the city. It was within walking distance to my workplace then (on Northborne Avenue) and also to the ANU. I felt alone and unsettled then, not sure if the experience was only going to be transient, and missing Tress for the most part. This time, it feels far more permanent. Well, as “permanent” as living on “this world is not my home (I’m just passing through)” can be. We bought this house that we’re making our home. We’ve been busy pottering around, making small (and not so small) fixes to let ourselves make it our home as much as possible. This is it, at least for the foreseeable future.

We’re just 10-12 mins from Kiddo, Mic and Abby. They’ve been coming around, for dinner and just to hang out. We’ve been around to theirs too. Each time Tress and I hop into our little hatchback (or the bigger car, the SUV) and drive over, we are grateful that it is not a 7 1/2 hour drive to see them. Likewise, when we see them pulling up at our front yard, we are not greeted with tired faces and a car full of luggage and stuff. They too, can easily hop into their car and make the 10-12 min drive to see us.

We are still going to their church, the “Southside Bible Church” or, simply, SBC. We went once to an Anglican joint in Cooleman Court, but as it is the holiday period, they were a small group and not really reflective of the community they usually are. So we decided to park it and revisit when “normal service” resumes. Till then, SBC it is. Yesterday, after SBC, we trekked into the city. “Tracking” is a bit of a stretch as it is actually a short drive. When Tress and I were driving home later in the arvo, we saw that it took us only about 10-15mins to get home. So trekking into the city wouldn’t be the sojourn that it can be in Melbourne. We went to an Asian eatery and that was probably the only time I missed Melbourne. The Malaysian food choices in Melbourne is paradise in comparison. That however, is (at least for now) a small dink in what has been otherwise a fabulous transition.

This morning as I did a “run” through the neighbourhood, I wore my usual “bone conduction” headphones and paid attention to the abundant flora and fauna all around me. The fat white cockies, the galahs, the rosellas (the smaller eastern are everywhere and the gorgeous luscious crimsons) and even the maggies, caught my eyes and I slowed down as I passed, almost greeting them. It was going to be another warm day but the cool air that was lingering was sufficiently rejuvenating and invigorating. Maybe United’s fighting performance against the Scousers had something to do with it (they defied the odds to draw 2-2 at Anfield) but there was little doubt that being so close to ones I love and care about, and the intoxicating cocktail of open spaces, hills on the horizon, birds and greens, played the much bigger roles. Gratitude…