Overdue update ...

Well, the MOTH has gone to Greymouth again (I frisked him to make sure he didn't have my car keys before he left !!!) so I thought this would be the perfect (somewhat belated) opportunity to list the highlights of our recent trip up north :-

1. Taking off from Dunedin airport knowing we were heading in the right direction (north) !!
2. The look on G's face when we arrived at the airport and he saw the MOTH ("the final piece of the puzzle - it wouldn't have felt right without you man !!")
3. The sight of my MOTH in a morning suit ... one word ... WOW !!!
4. The look on G's face when he first saw the bride (gorgeous, radiant, elegant, just perfect) - tears, pride, disbelief ...
5. The ear to ear grin on G's face at the reception every time he mentioned "my wife" and the even bigger grin (if it was at all possible) as he added "and she's having my baby !!"
6. (PS : Did I mention the MOTH looked hot ?)
7. Lunch with the MOTH's family (make that our family) and feeling completely at ease
8. Driving over the hills and seeing Northland laid out before us (well, we had to use our imagination a bit, it was raining)
9. Hugs with a very pregnant P and talking for hours about nothing but understanding each other perfectly
10. Arguing with S, but knowing it was all good-natured
11. Morning tea with V (mochaccinos and chocolate brownies !!!!)
12. Lunch with Grandma and Grandad (the MOTH provided the tua tuas) :)
13. Our house !!! (going through our stuff in storage and picking more things to bring back with us to make our place here look more like ours)
14. Icecream on the waterfront and luxuriating in the feel of 21 degrees and warm wind !!!
15. Hugs and laughing and tickling with N & T, and then dinner and grown up talk with M & G
16. Morning tea with Nana :)

There were a few down sides to the trip too, and it wouldn't be honest if I didn't mention them as well :-
1. The wedding was beautiful, but it's really hard to watch two people so in love give themselves to each other when you can't be sitting with your special someone (even if he was standing at the front looking absolutely gorgeous !!!)
2. Oh yeah, was not at all prepared to feel physically nauseous when watching the MOTH walk in to dinner with another woman on his arm ... I mean, of course I know it's expected, but I was shocked at how bad it felt to see it ... the little "what if" portion of my brain working overtime and going "so if you and the MOTH ever break up, this is what it's gonna be like !!!" ...
3. Realising that the next time I see P & S, their baby will be six months old !!!
4. Walking through my house and seeing someone else's furniture and thinking "you know, that bed would look so much better against that wall !"
5. Seeing Max (my dog) again. I honestly agonised over this for weeks as to whether it was a good idea to go and see him - it took four months before I could look at a photo without crying and I had to take him off the desktop on my computer. He has put on sooooooo much weight ... and he doesn't look like my dog any more, let alone act like my dog ... so that was closure I guess ...
6. Driving over the hills coming south and wanting to turn the car around (I actually said to the MOTH "you know, we're going the wrong way") ...
7. Landing at Dunedin airport

The MOTH asked me as we were driving home from the airport "do you really hate it down here that much ?"

No, I don't hate it. But it isn't home.

And if N (Max's new daddy) can manage "two years, three months and four days" (not that he was counting) in a place he detested with every fibre of his being, then I'm pretty sure I can manage a couple of years here.

As long as we can go home every six months :)