Hello New Zealand!

The kids and I in the Port Hills south of Christchurch

Want to hear something curious? It's something I realized this summer, as we were preparing for this trip to New Zealand. I was reflecting on how whenever I've heard the name "New Zealand" in my life, it's had an extra sparkle of sorts, a shimmer of some kind of kismet or connection I couldn't even quite put into words.  It made me wonder, what other places have lit up for me like that from the moment I learned about them? My list included Ann Arbor, France, Oregon, Tahiti, New Zealand...  What I was surprised to realize was how I have had the pleasure of visiting or living in all of these places over my lifetime, not always even of my own doing. Sure, we decided together on our Tahiti honeymoon, but Andy was only accepted to grad school in Ann Arbor, and there were only two schools in the country he had job offers for when we moved to Portland. 

It makes me feel like Time isn't the one-way street I assume it to be from day to day. It feels almost like this shimmery quality to these place names was a sort of touch on the shoulder from the Future, existing somehow simultaneously with the Now. A tip of the hat from the Future Me, a little gift of excitement and love for my life here. 

And that is truly what I wish and pray for this time in New Zealand to be -- a time for us as a family to celebrate life, its beauties and quirks and people and connections. To let all the change and newness shake up our routines enough to really look around, and be here, consciously, with deep gratitude for the wonders of this Earth and all the other people and life forms sharing this planet with us.

We're living in Christchurch, on the east coast of the South Island

Here's something else that surprised me. Before we arrived, when I looked at a map of the world and saw how far south New Zealand is -- even further south than Australia and seeming precariously close to Antarctica -- I honestly felt a pang of fear imagining ourselves here, like we would fall off the bottom of the planet or something. Like it really would somehow feel upside down, almost alien. I didn't realize I was carrying this fear around with me, until we got off the plane in Christchurch, and I was struck instead by how oddly familiar it felt. It was as if, looking around at the sky and the trees, the right side-up buildings and feeling gravity holding me firmly on the ground, that I had a sense of "small world," realizing it is truly the Earth that is my home, that welcomes me wherever I may be. And now that I think about it, it felt this way in Europe, and Tahiti, and all the places I've been. That also feels like magic to me.

And so, from my home away from home on this stunningly beautiful island that is called New Zealand -- or Aotearoa, its Maori name, which also has a bit of that shimmer for me -- I am excited to begin sharing about our adventures and discoveries, big and small. 

Wherever on Earth you may be reading this, may it light up in some special way for you too : )

love,

Sarah