Bye-bye St Heliers!

Last week-end was one of transition, endings and new beginnings.
Marcia and Camille, neighbours and friends, took the kids for a sleepover on Friday so we could have the night off and release a bit of the pressure accumulated over the past few weeks. Watching The Dust Palace and the APO’s epic production ‘Dawn’, then dancing some salsa at Tomtom definitely helped. We could even indulge in sleeping in the next morning. Still the sound of Camille’s baritone voice through the fine walls of our unit reminded me I should check on our kids. Marcia assured me they were fine, playing with Theo and Arthur on their new board game Pandemic, trying to save the world against a fast-spreading disease, and she was making breakfast for them, so why not enjoy the peace and quiet a bit longer with Thomas. But frankly, a breakfast just the two of us, in an empty house (except from the mattress we slept on, temporarily borrowed from the aforementioned neighbours) with nothing left to make tea or coffee, let alone eat off, wasn’t so appealing. So, we invited ourselves at theirs and gratefully enjoyed their morning buffet 🙂

Then, some final loading of the truck, vacuuming and mopping of the floors later it was time to go. Leaving St Heliers wasn’t easy, we reluctantly said our goodbyes to the neighbours (both side), took a few last group photos on our (ex-)deck, promising to catch up with each other soon, and I dropped the keys at the Real Estate Agency. Vacating 2/31 Vale road, ticked.

Ensued a gloomy ride from the house to the marina, Thomas in his work’s ute, and me in the car with the boys at the back not uttering a sound. I wish I could have lifted their spirits up but I was heavy-hearted myself. Fortunately, by the time we reached the boat and emptied our last truck-load of stuff, it was time to… eat again! Nothing like food to take our minds off our early nostalgia. Indian takeaway eaten at the nearest park under a glorious sun did the trick, and, inspired by summery vibe, we then headed straight to Narrow Neck beach to soak in the holiday feel, with a detour to the marina for me to deal with the laundry, and get my first bike ride in our new neighbourhood.

The evening was spent helping Obelix gulp down all the stuff dumped on him in the morning, grooming him for his blessing the next day, and getting some well deserved rest…