A Family Affair

This week has been an emotional upheaval for my family, so it was an incredibly happy (for me) (selfishly) happenstance that my Uncle and Aunt were spending a few days in London before embarking on their European adventure.

Ha. So I'd just like to point out that London is no longer included on my list of "places that count" when thinking about Europe/the UK. As I said earlier tonight, London may not yet feel entirely like home, but I definitely feel like I live here.

You know what's a strange phrase? "A Familiar Face". Most of my friends here have faces that are, in actual fact, familiar to me. And yet, I still think of people who I knew before I moved here as "familiar faces".

Anyway, back to the point. My Uncle an Aunt are on the first leg of an amazing tour of the UK and southern Europe, and tonight I was lucky enough to have dinner with them. My family have always been close, and one of the things I've missed most since being here has been seeing my cousins on the regular. So it was incredibly comforting to have family members within touching distance.

Unfortunately their visit has been marred by an untimely and shocking death in the family.

Of course this tragedy is not going to derail such longterm plans as a trip to Europe but it is an untimely reminder, to me at least, of how...precious? short? life is.

I firmly believe that a life lived casually, happily and, above all, ridiculously, is a life well lived. And I'm confident G lived with a healthy appetite for all three of these values. Plus he was one of the few people I've met who had unequivocally met and married their soul mate, something I am endlessly envious of.

Nevertheless his death has made me remember how much I love just being. I've been indulging in self pity recently, and forgetting how lucky I am to be here. I don't want to be complacent. I live in a city I've dreamed of for years, with a smorgasbord of travellers delights at my feet. I'm young, I'm reckless and I have every intention of using these few short years to my absolute advantage. If nothing else good comes of this awful situation, I've at least regained my sense of self. The hell with responsibility. I'll be a real person when I decide, and not before.

So while seeing my family was wonderful (thanks Bob and Ali!) I have no intention of returning to Australia anytime soon. There's too much I need to do first.