Nostalgie

I'm on holidays.

In Brisbane, my former home. In the almost-six years since we left this town, for Melbourne via the World, we have visited twice-yearly-ish. But usually the visits are short and spent travelling between two or three family abodes in various corners of this sprawling city and are often mired by the acute stress of national gift-giving holidays.

But this jaunt (it's main purpose to travel to Byron Bay at the weekend for my dear friends Liz and Joel's nuptials), feels different and better. Just moments ago I was lying on the guest bed at my brother's house, and I remarked to Patrick about how this used to be our life in Brisbane. Remember? Working a 38.5-hour week? Coming home when it was still light outside, hanging out watching Spongebob Squarepants and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer (yes a person can watch both those things in succession and learn from both), and when the sunny air cooled we'd make dinner, maybe walk to get ice cream on a week night (even in Winter). Somewhere a window was always cracked open, year-round.

Life changes, people decide to pursue better careers that they like so much they want to work at them more often, and perhaps move somewhere where Winter temps are not conducive to eating cold desserts or having fresh air running through the house.

I love my now-life in Melbourne and I know that I could never move back here and have that old lifestyle miraculously return. Because it was essentially just a younger person's lifestyle. But I do like that I can come to Brisbane and lie around at 5pm and be transported for a moment to the memory of that time. It's a nice thing to remember to look forward to.

Image from my fave new Brisbane shop, Little Jane St in Fortitude Valley. Also what I love about Brisbane - their VJ timber board homes.