The Joy and Tears of Moving Continents With Our Family of Nine

The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less travelled by
And that has made all the difference.

Here I sit in the mild mid morning, coffee in hand, watching the children play on the green lawn with the brown water of the lake lapping quietly on the shore in the background. It’s a bit breezy this morning so the wind chimes are dancing and the leaves on the oak trees are rustling loudly. In Texas. I am sitting in Texas. The children are playing on the lawn… in Texas.

A New Plan

2022 was a year of change. A change in vision and direction. At the beginning of 2022 we had a three to five year plan of staying in the Clermont area and pursuing our dream of small scale farming. But a few months into the year God planted a seed for a new dream in a new land. We decided to relocate my in-laws (now in their 80’s) back to America to be near family and move there with them. The goal was to keep the family together, help take care of my in-laws and follow our farming dreams in a new place. The ‘what’ hadn’t changed, just the ‘where’.

Preparation

Months of paperwork was to follow. After waiting in limbo land for what seemed like ages, it all happened in a bit of a whirl wind. At the end of February, 2023 we finally received my immigration papers. I guess I should mention that my husband and all our children are dual citizens but I had to apply for immigration. We were thinking we would take 6 – 8 weeks to plan and carry out our move when we got the go ahead. However, hubby found some airline tickets that were too good to pass up. We also discovered that the prices for flying were only going to increase as the year went on.

Booking Tickets

So with fear and trepidation we booked the tickets for March 23rd. That gave us just 3 short weeks to sell everything, pack, clean and move! On top of that hubby decided for financial reasons to work all the way up until the day we left. He is always doing his best to make sure the family is well cared for. These combined factors meant we had three weeks of crazy! But with some wonderful help from amazing friends we got it done.

We had a friend come and completely sort and organise the shed and items we were selling for a garage sale. Other friends helped with the garage sale, and dump runs. Another dear friend drove over 820km to help us – she cooked, cleaned and counselled for several days. Some came and helped clean the house or took care of children. Another repaired items for us. There is no way we could have made it happen without all of the phenomenal help that we received.

Saying Goodbye

At the end of it all, with many tearful goodbyes, we drove out of Clermont and headed south. Clermont was such a gift to our family. We absolutely loved our 18 months there. It was a place of belonging and thriving. A place of healing and great joy.

We drove 5 and a half hours to my brothers place near Tannum Sands for two days of family time and many more tears. Family is precious and time was too short. Then 6 more hours south to our dear friends in Gympie. We stayed with them for three days and ran around finalizing little last minute tasks. There we caught up with a few nearby friends and repacked bags.

Goodbyes are hard. I cried a truck load of tears that week. Even when you know strongly and deeply that you are doing the right thing. Even when you have peace in your heart that God is leading. There were just so many beautiful friendships and poignant memories we have left behind.

Memories of walking with all those precious ones through life’s ups and downs; birthing babies; schooling and raising children together; standing with each other in trial and in triumph; sickness and health; through tears and laughter.

So. Many. Memories.

Yes, the goodbyes were hard.

Things to Remember

Playing silently in the background to all of this were the constant thoughts of leaving my homeland. Months before I had made a conscious decision to take time to capture memories. I willed my senses to store away every sight, sound and smell. Deliberately I savored each outback sunset; each time I heard the magpies in the morning and the kookaburra’s in the evening.

I remember standing at Crockers in Clermont to fill up my bus with petrol when cockatoos started screeching in the gums over the road… staring off into the blue I prayed God would help me remember that sound. Visions of corellas rising in loud unison from the dry ground as I walked by at sunrise and disturbed their shared breaky. The smell of pungent eucalyptus as I wandered beneath the gum trees, dried leaves crackling underfoot. These were the pieces of home I wanted to carry with me.

And the people. I would walk into the post office, the local Mitre 10, the health food store, or the library and be greeted by name with a friendly hello. I understand and I am understood. Here I get the jokes, the slang, the history, the nuances of culture. Will I fit in over there? Will our children fit in? How long will it take until we feel at home? I was eager and excited by our plans but these thoughts still occupied my mind as I tried to focus on sorting, organising, selling, packing and the other seemingly endless tasks associated with relocating a family of nine over the ocean.

The Flights

So it was that by the time we arrived at that last day before we flew out, that we were all emotionally and physically spent. But mixed in with that exhaustion was excitement. We could all feel it in those last few days – the sense of impending adventure and the thrill of the unknown.

Many new experiences waiting just over the horizon and flying was to be the first.

The tickets we found were with Emirates flying Brisbane to Houston with a 4 hour lay over in Dubai. A 35 hour flight in total. We liked that it was with Emirates as they had a good reputation. The only other reasonably priced tickets we found were with a Chinese airline with some dodgy reviews – and a 17 hour lay over in Tapei. No thanks.

New Adventures

My husband had flown internationally many times through his life but for the rest of us it was a grand adventure. I had flown a little – just short domestic flights and one to Vanuatu for our honeymoon (just 4 hours). Most of our children had never flown before – or had one short flight as infants that they didn’t remember. So it was with much excitement that we boarded that huge plane in Brisbane.

35 hours later, tired, stiff and completely over the novelty of the personalised screens, headsets, individual seat control and ‘fun’ food of the aeroplane… we arrived in Houston.

At this point the little ones got a little upset when I was ushered to a different area to go through immigration, while they all went straight downstairs to the luggage. However it only took about 30 minutes to process my paperwork and we were reunited. There was some confusion and waiting around while we figured out how to catch the shuttle bus to where our hire car was waiting… then walked and walked and walked with five trolleys loaded with 16 bags and several small tired grumpy children, through the airport to find the right entrance to catch that shuttle bus.

Meeting Family

When that got sorted, our extended family met us in two of their vehicles to help transport us to our airbnb. The biggest vehicle we could rent was a seven seater. When we added the luggage and the 9 of us, we couldn’t all fit in the rental car. Thankfully they were there to help. So finally at about 10pm on the 25th March we arrived in three cars with our suitcases and fell into bed.

Jet lag was a lot harder to cope with than I imagined. It took us a solid 10 days to adjust and be able to sleep at night and focus during the day.

The house where we are staying is just perfect. I am so grateful to have this as our landing place.

It is right on Lake Houston with a big backyard going down to the water. The yard has lovely big old trees full of birds and squirrels. It is somewhere to escape and find peace at the end of a busy day and after the stress of Houston roads and navigating all things new and strange in a new land.

The property has space for the kids to run and play. To spot turtles and birds from the jetty. They can fish. Throw a ball or play in the outdoor spa. Or even sit on the big back verandah like I am right now. It has helped make this strange and in some way difficult transition, a lot easier and more peaceful.

There is so much to do, and I am sure so many wonderful adventures before us, but right now it just feels good to stop and rest.