Life Upside Down

It’s been six months on the dot since we landed in Asheville, our new spot in the midst (mist?!) of the Appalachian mountains. Slowly and with intention we are putting down roots and building community. We have people: some old friends and more new ones. There are pizza nights with the upstairs neighbors. We joined a CSA and know the farmer who grows our produce. We have joined libraries, a local compost program, a nature center. We know which taco places in town we prefer, that Eleanor loves the playground a few blocks away, and that Sunday is ‘family day’ at the brewery down the road.

We feel lucky to be here, specifically where we found our small 2-bed home. We can walk to downtown, the grocery store, a bakery. Eleanor loves her daily walks, yelling and crowing as she is wheeled around the streets.

Australia is still so close to our minds. I think about Brisbane every day, and have to choose the right moments to go through old photos and relive old memories. It still stings that we have such rich community so far away. But Asheville is making sense, with my family 2 hours away and Jonathan’s a 7-hour flight instead of 20. We are acclimating to this groovy mountain town.

Summer in the mountains is bliss: not too hot, with cool mornings and long daylight hours until 9pm. The cool is a desperately welcome respite after the Queensland summers that felt about 6 months long. We recently got to experience a highlight reel summer chapter with dear friends who made the trek to visit us from Australia. What a dream, to experience the new with old friends! (The few week visit got me back into the colloquial habit of saying ‘mate,’ which I am now on a campaign to bring to the US.)

Eleanor turned one last week; next week I start a new role with a company I am deeply excited to be part of. Things are happening and we are excited for the future. I still sometimes confusingly refer to Brisbane as ‘home’ depending on who I’m talking to, but Asheville and coming back to NC are starting to feel like they will become that home again, too.