Leaving Here

In a couple of days my vacation odyssey here will end and I will fly back home to Christchurch to be with John. I have missed him in these last few weeks but have also inserted myself into life here with renewed vigor. Somehow, being on this property of many ups and downs with views in every direction, has been so blissful. It is hard for me to worry about any negatives being here. Elijah has been a big part of that. Actually, all of my young grandsons are so wonderfully innocent, it is such a blessing to be around them. That’s what I miss the most living in our remote farm cottage. Being around the children is like a salve for all pains, physical or emotional. And being around my grown children is something I must do more often. These last few years of lockdowns and despair have really taken their toll on my heart.
So, in these last couple of days here, I am enjoying the nearness of the family here, knowing that the clock is ticking and I must go back to my own life, devoid of these local connections. Back to a silent void without the constant laughter.
As I think about writing another blog now, all that comes to mind are the myriad photos of the flowers and the blossoms depicting life in their established gardens with their ever-burgeoning greenhouses starting to burst into fruition yet again. There is so much vitality here to speak about. Everywhere I look, something is coming into bloom. Deciduous trees are starting to leaf up again, showing minute signs of life on budding branches. Ornamental fruit trees and real fruit trees are in blossom as the symphony of life here unfolds before our grateful eyes. Lenten roses bloom by the bucketloads lining the driveway on both sides in tones of taupe and wine colors or pristine limey greenish white as the many rhododendrons begin to take over from the massive blooms of the gigantic camellias, some reaching the 2nd story of the house.
Then there are the views of the hills that surround the land. We can see the animals grazing near the creek at the base of the pointed, grassy hills. Several lambs and their mothers show up there often near the weeping willows. Occasionally we catch glimpses of the growing cows, Midnight and Ginger, that graze primarily in the far paddock that is much lower down on this estate, but they also come up higher towards the front paddock of walnut trees near the newly established orchard. Recently, a farmer plowed a very large area of that front paddock between those walnut trees for future vegetables to be planted sometime soon, probably a few days after my exit from this haven.
This was certainly a different type of trip for me, instead of endless outings, we mostly stayed home, tending the gardens, schooling Elijah, just getting comfortable in the rhythms of their lives here.
But now it is time to return to my life. And make some life altering changes that I have been putting off for quite a while. Wish me luck.