Day 8 - Meet the family

The Bandycoot was born here in Tassie, so it’s been kind of a homecoming for him of sorts (though he did leave when he was two). It’s something that he had always talked about, going back to Tassie to live and now it has become a reality for us both.

We had some sad news this week that his great aunt had passed away, so we went with the rest of the family to Launceston for the funeral. Well it was a packed house and it sounds like she was a wonderful lady, so it was well deserved. I could see a few heads turn when we came in and took the last few seats, probably questioning who the ginger bearded man was with the curly haired girl. Many of them hadn’t seen the Bandycoot since he was a small boy, so he wasn’t even sure about who everyone was or remembering their names. I had even less hope after meeting cousins, uncles, long lost friends, cousins-cousins-sister-in-law’s Auntie (you get the picture) and more relatives than I could count. They all made me feel very welcome to the family and it was lovely for the Bandycoot to reconnect to his extended family. It made me miss my own! I was particularly impressed by one of the Bandycoot’s cousins who flew all the way from London to attend, spending more time in the air than on the ground.

Events like these always make me stop to consider my own life and how I’m living it. What would my eulogy sound like thus far..? It makes me even more sure that we have made the right decision to embark on the adventure that is Tasmania.