Scared - that is probably the best word to describe the feelings at the moment. After about 10 years of wanting to make it happen, and probably the last 3 years of planning to make it happen, it is finally getting close to making it happen.
Only 3.5 months before we take off on our big trip - quitting jobs, selling lots of our assets including our house and Di's car, getting rid of a lot of our furniture and bits and pieces, and only keeping a few select items in storage for the 18 months or so that we will be away from our home, our families, and our friends. That's a lot of BIG things to happen, and it's feeling a bit scary. But we have wanted to do this for a long while now, and we don't want to put off travelling until we get older, and maybe not able to do everything we want to - as it is the body of a 40-something year old is not nearly nimble enough anymore.
So the house is currently for sale http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-panania-112478767.pdf?680b13164e75ce3803aeadbbd68f1cd4-150.4456-6, we have culled a lot of stuff from our house, e-bay has done a roaring trade with items we have sold, and several items have been ear-marked to go to family and friends to use while we are away.
And the other big scary thing to happen is that I have been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the "technology world" - that place inhabited by blogs, tablets, smartphones and mobile broadband devices. I never knew we needed so much technology to enable us to head out into the bush, and get away from the hustle and bustle. We have recently invested in the following :-
Satellite phone
Nexus 7 32Gb tablet
Telstra mobile broadband wi-fi thingo
iPod classic 160Gb
Kindle Paperwhite e-reader
OziEplorer mapping software
Hema mapping software
And once we buy a smartphone in the next few weeks, and pack the laptop we have at home, there will be more cables and charging devices than you can poke a stick at, and enough computing power to land a shuttle on the moon. How did this all happen - next we'll be starting a blog and sharing our adventures for all the world to see - D'oh.
The list of things still to do is long, and is probably growing rather than reducing, but there is still lots to do, and contingencies to think of. Only 10 more weeks of work is a satisfying thought, and while it will go quickly, and I am looking forward to leaving the job I have filled for the last 13 years, it will also be a bit of a sad time too. But our adventure awaits, and there is a certain sense of mischief with kissing everything goodbye and taking off - maybe this is the real mid-life-crisis and the Porsche was just a fleeting attraction.
So what do I hope to achieve out of taking this long period away from our normal lives, and spending such a bloody huge amount of money - will end up being over $200K by the time we get back, so it better be good. I am really looking forward to spending some real time with my darling wife, and sharing lots of adventures together. There is nothing better than both sharing the same experience, and being able to discuss it, remember it, and laugh about the silly things. I am also looking forward to taking her to some of the places I have already been to - swimming spots in the Kimberley's, the Bungle Bungle ranges, and Lawn Hill National Park and paddling up the gorge. But there is also so much that neither of us has seen, and to be able to share that together will be awesome.
And in reality, we probably both just need some time out from life, to take a breather and see the sights rather than running on the treadmill of life wondering where it is heading to. To slow down to a simpler life, and notice the little things that happen. Fresh air, changing landscapes, new people, and different things to city life.
But there will also be things we will miss terribly - family, especially spending time with Matthew and seeing him develop from a school kid into a young man. Then there are all of our friends, who mean the world to us. And then there is our house - whilst it is not the most modern, and doesn't have all the latest features, it is still our home that we have come back to every night for many, many years - so it will be a bit weird not doing that. But these things are not that far away, given the amount of technology we are taking, and an airfare from anywhere back to Sydney can happen easy enough.
But back to planning, making lists, fixing things, and making modifications to make things better, faster, stronger, or leaner - still lots to do, and probably not enough time to do it.
Speak soon
The Hammo's
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