I’ve just got back . . .

. . . from spending the weekend with S in Perth. It was my first night away from Little Country Town since I moved in, and I was nervous about how Jemima would go alone overnight. She seems fine (but very happy to see me!) and the house is all exactly as I left it, so I guess she did alright.

It’s nice to be home, and nice that Little Country Town already feels like home, even though I’ve been here less than a week. I’ve done my best so far to adopt the house and the town, and I feel like the house has adopted me and the town is working on it (I’m now recognised immediately by the folks at the post office, petrol station, hardware and supermarket, and I’ve met one set of neighbours). And slowly but surely I’m falling in love with the beautiful aspects of this place – the quietness, the incredibly vivid stars at night (hardly any lights, so they’re just spectacular), and the amazing flocks of galahs or cockatoos (I haven’t got close enough to know which yet) that fly over the town and roost in the trees just outside it at night. And I’m still enjoying the feeling of driving along the open road between golden fields of wheat and gnarled old salmon gums.

Every now and then this place makes me catch my breath and sigh with delight. I think being here will be ok :-)

But the downside to being back is that I miss S like crazy. We’re going to see each other every weekend, but the weekend we just had together was so wonderful and cozy that it was very hard on both of us when I had to leave. I keep reminding myself that next year we’ll be able to live together – with the help of luck, providence or stubbornness – but this year is going to be tough.

I’m trying to think positive – focusing on the good weekends, not the loneliness in between.

PS: It is apparently physically impossible for me to drive past a wheat field with a windmill in it without starting to whistle or hum the theme music from "Twister", which features a lot of that kind of scenery. *shrug* . . . at least it's beautiful music!