Wow, can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written anything of note. Facebook posts, gymnastics programmes and newsletters don’t really count.

My lack of brain dumping in the form of words is in part due to a crazy busy few months but also not really feeling the need to ‘clear my head’. Until now.

When I reflect on when I’ve chosen to write in the past, it has mostly coincided with poignant, often challenging times in my life. I have realised that through ‘getting it down on paper (or screen)’ that I appear to be able to better process my many many thoughts.

It’s been nine months since we said goodbye to our life in Oz and while I like to think I’m somewhat in control of my future and destiny, with more plans and goals than most people have in a lifetime, set for the next 12 months alone, I couldn’t have possibly foreseen all that has happened.

We have certainly tried to live life to full, visiting places we’ve never been, jetting off to Europe, why wouldn’t you when it only takes the same time to fly there as the drive to Melbourne from Albury used to take. We’ve had more visitors that we could have hoped for and we have loved sharing our new life with our Aussie friends, giving them a snap shot of our lives to take back with them.

We’ve spent time with family and Patrick has developed bonds with his cousins that will last a lifetime, just as I did with mine at the same age. I’ve loved being a big sister again and cannot put into words the joy that being around Sarah, daily now we work together, has brought me. I didn’t realise just how much I had missed ‘us’. Even now a happy tear rolls down my face as I am writing. Equally I have enjoyed being able to pop in on mum and dad for a cuppa. There’s nothing quite like time spent with your mum, shopping, afternoon tea as a treat or sitting in the sun; and while they appear to always be tear inducing, mummy hugs are definitely the best.

We’ve spent time with the best and most wonderful, familiar old friends and we have been so lucky to have made many new ones that we are both truly grateful for. It’s definitely true that people come into your life when you least expect it, at the school gates, on holiday, tagged in Facebook posts. People who have helped make the lonely times less lonely and who have made the transition to UK life so much easier.

I was sure I’d struggle to make friends when I moved back but it seems, I was very wrong (not something I’m good at admitting). And as for Patrick, his smile will always light up a room and as biased as I am as his mum, his beautiful nature seems to draw people in, both young and old. Needless to say, he too has an amazing friendship base here in the UK. That’s not to say we don’t miss our family and friends on the other side of the world. Gosh we do, but we make the most of Skype and messenger and our memories stay strong as we embrace this chapter of our lives.

Patrick continues to amaze me every single day. He is thriving in every way. He gets sad too for the life we left behind but he is wise beyond his years and he is my very best friend. Our bond is unbreakable.

After realising that I couldn’t work for anyone else very early on (I applied for two jobs to no avail and the thought of having to ask to go on the measly 4 weeks annual leave per year made me palpate with anxiety), I started planning for another business right away. I was offered three amazing gymnastics opportunities over here but timing and location meant I had to turn them down. And so Ambitions was borne.

Not alone this time, but with a business partner. We’ve finished our first term on a high with some amazing feedback and big plans for the future. Nine month on, who’d have thought?!! And I’ve got some other super exciting things in the pipeline too which I can’t wait to get into when I get back from holiday.

Flyaway is still a massive part of my life and I am proud beyond words of my team. They have exceeded every expectation I had and continue to run not only my business, but a ‘home’ to many wonderful gymnasts. In my weaker moments and when I see how amazing everyone is doing and how happy all the children and coaches seem, I can’t help but shed a tear (or a hundred) and very much miss my other home. Goele and I share the very same sentiment around teleporting – c’mon Mr Branson, in my lifetime please.

It hasn’t all been bright and sunny though, although the smiles and photos may appear to tell a different story, It really would be a fairytale if we hadn’t had some difficult moments. The last couple of months has been a bit tougher than I’d have liked for more reasons than I’m prepared to go in to. I have no shame in saying that I’ve struggled a bit.

The broken toe was the last straw and while it’s just a broken toe and it will heal relatively quickly, it has forced me to slow down, think more than I would like to, relax a little and regroup.

While life might like to throw a curve ball at me from time to time, if not only to remind me that it’s the tough times in which we grow the most, I have hope that better days are coming. I have to.

I’m reading a book (the first of six I plan to get through on holiday) called Five Years from Now. I chose this book in the same way I choose all the books I read – I liked the front cover and I was captured by the first line on the back (that’s all much ‘selling’ opportunity you’ve got). Well, it’s like it was written for me for sooo many reasons, and while I haven’t finished reading it yet, the underlying message is distinctly clear. We really have no way of knowing what is going to happen next; not tomorrow, not in a week, not in nine months and certainly not in 5 years.

So for now, I’ll sit back, relax in the sun and finish my book, process what I need to to get my fight back, and wonder without limits, what life might bring twelve months from now…💕