It took less than two hours from the time I touched down at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport to the time we were packed and in the car, headed down the coast to Lake Conjola. I shook off the Chicago winter, popped on my thongs/flip-flops and threw myself into the southern hemisphere summer. It’s a part of the world where the forest meets the lake meets the sea. You can see how much the trees have grown since I last took a photo from the above spot, too. Another reminder that time has moved on here whilst I’ve been gone. When you find yourself in sunshine this bright, it makes the past — and the present — feel like a dream. Was I ever in Chicago? Was it a regular -12C only a day or two ago?  Now my legs are being whipped by a refreshing southerly. I emerge from the cool blue waters of the Tasman Sea refreshed, reenergised.

For me, homesickness can only be cured by a trip back. And a big part of returning is soaking up the colours that I only seem to be able to find in Australia: the infinite blue skies, the spectrum of greens in the flora, the pinky tinge to the Sydney sunlight, the blues-greens-and-inbetweens of the ocean. These colours, this salty air and Mediterranean food recharges my spirit. 

It’s great to be back.