My many thanks go out to Graeme and Katrina, my former bunk-a-biker guests. I had the pleasure of meeting them both on Memorial Day Weekend of 2022. Through the conversations we had, my interest in visiting Australia was renewed. I spent hours talking to them about the time to visit, key places to go, things to see, ect. Now I am spending hours asking them American ideology questions like, “Can you turn left on a red light since you drive on the left side of the road?” and “Do the toilets really flush in the opposite direction south of the equator?” My poor friends..probably thinking this gal is off her rocker.
In 1986, Crocodile Dundee graced the silver screens. I was six years old when this movie came out and I was hooked. My parents, thankfully, had cable and HBO! I was also introduced at a young age to All the Rivers Run, and The Man from Snowy River. The accents, the outback, the ruggedness of these movies spurred my curiosity to see these “foreign” places.
When my husband, Colin, passed in 2021 I felt a great sense of loss. I mean, OVERWHELMING loss. Not only loss, but abandonment, betrayal, hopelessness. I mean, anyone who has experienced a loss of any kind understands the words I am saying. My friends said before he passed, I was glowing. I knew what true love felt like. I knew security. People say you have your one true love out there. There is someone for everyone. I felt I had lost a piece of my soul, my soulmate. I realized that Colin and I were shooting stars traveling in opposite directions. We passed by each other and our shining light gifted each other for a brief moment and then was gone.
That being said, I sank into a deep depression. People say that it will get easier as time passes but let me tell you, three years later and it still hurts. It is not that I am getting used to being alone, again, I am relearning how to be comfortable being alone again. I decided, finally, it was time to start living again. Now to decide what bucket list item to get marked off first. Well, I guess the oldest on the list is Australia. Let’s get started…
