Homesick, Heartache, and Harrison Craig

I am still Homeschool Atheist Momma!

Harrison Craig, Australia Atheist parenting secular parenting freethinking parenting

I have to confess here that I am struggling to fit back in to my life here in St. Louis. While we were gone our friends kept moving forward without us, as you do, and I moved forward too. I'm a different person now. We're all different people, really.

A lovely friend of mine who seemed to know what it is like said it so well:  when you move away people move forward, sometimes filling in that space where you used to be; now they have to find ways to make space for you again.

I think that I don't know quite how to make it happen at the moment...  I know that I create alot of this crap in my own mind because my friends here are truly lovely. But still...I am struggling with this quite a bit. I love my friends here and I know that they love me, yet I'm feeling a bit at a loss, like a floating speck... 
Meh. I'm not even sure that that has anything to do with it.

The truth is, I miss Australia and my heart hurts. 


It's difficult to tell people, TMI, I think. Everyone wants to hear that we are GREAT and thrilled to be back home. But it's much harder than that.  So I generally say that I am fine. But, inside, I feel a bit like flotsom...

I keep wondering how long I will feel so homesick...

I will always associate the beautiful journey of Harrison Craig with our time in Australia. I remember the moment from Harrison's debut audition song on the Australian The Voice show, when we saw him sing for the first time. We cheered out loud when Harrison selected Seal for his coach! We watched the show each week; his journey was so inspiring to us.

Our friends here at home agree that Harrison has a wonderful voice, but I'm pretty sure that our American friends don't understand our affection for him really. I get that. I think that Harrison's story was very personal for many Australians who were fortunate enough to see him come alive on The Voice. He has a way of making listeners and fans feel personally special to him.

After Harrison won The Voice and began touring, Elizabeth and I went and saw him perform seven or eight times. The comradeship with other fans always made the concerts so enjoyable and we began to understand how our friends from home got so wrapped up in David Cook on whatever show he was on a few years back... My daughter and I made friends at those concerts, people who we still think of fondly; you can see some of them in the pics below. (One person just contacted me tonight, in fact! It was so lovely to hear from her.)

Anyway, one time when we saw Harrison perform, the last time we saw him perform, I knew we would not be seeing him again due to the fact that we were about to move back home to the US, so I was kind of ... emotional.  

So after his show Harrison took the time to talk to absolutely everyone who waiting to talk to him (which is his gentlemanly and generous way). While my daughter and I were talking to him I blurted out some ridiculously emotional stuff to him because I was already missing Australia at that moment (LOL...I'm embarrassed to remember it) and he was so gentle and sweet...even though I put him in that awkward situation.  (shakes head at self!)

Now that we have moved back home to the States, seeing and hearing Harrison's videos and music makes me incredibly homesick. I think I will always associate the beauty of this young man with his gorgeous country.

THANK YOU, Harrison!

OK, OK, what did I blurt out?
UGH!
I put my hands on his face and wished him true happiness in his life (UGH) and I asked him, Will you remember us? Will you remember Elizabeth and I?  Because we will never forget you? He replied Of course I will!
UGH!

Harrison's brother and darling mom sat with us a couple of times.
His mom is a truly sweet woman.
I'm pretty sure that this is Connor talking to a friend saying
"DUDE, I get to sit with Karen!"

 

Addendum, 24 hours later:
I feel much better just having written this!

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You might also enjoy:
Harrison Craig:  Australia's The Voice Winner 2013
A Brief Interaction
Homeschooling and Our Trip to Melbourne, VIC

If Food Were Love, This Trip to the Grocery Store was Valentine's Day

My Stepdaughter, Jessica

Our family returned home from Australia last night, about 24 hours ago. After many hours of sleep I went to the grocery store. My stepson, a 27 year old guy, has been living in our home while we were out of the country so the refrigerator had a 24-pack of beer, many packages of leftovers, ingredients for some beverage he makes in the blender, and some mayo. I had to shop!

Food in Australia is SO So so so so so different. Almost every grocery trip that I ever made in Brisbane was followed by a long list of what everybody was missing that week. Sometimes it was American cereal, cheese, fruits, ice cream, candy, or just meats. Over the course of our eighteen months there we probably missed everything at least once.

Tonight, as I walked the aisles of the Dierbergs, I could not believe my eyes!

The produce department at Dierbergs is a freaking thing of beauty! 

The pieces of fruits are so huge and luscious...in the middle of winter! (please no comments on GMOs) The colors and choices...sigh. I brought home a gorgeous rainbow of foods! I bought some ginormous strawberries for a song...and they are delicious.

The cereal aisle? It is a full aisle long!  Every single possible sort of cereal and size is there in that aisle. The choices are many! I could have purchased about a hundred different cereals.  But I just bought some Frosted Mini Wheats. And there were Poptarts!  I got cinnamon Poptarts and some fudgy kind for the kids.

I felt like a princess as I walked up to the frozen section...John and I have been waiting eighteen long months for those biscuits in the break-open package in the refrigerated section. There, in the place where they were supposed to be:  ONE PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!
I guess we'll have to make due with one of the many other choices right there in the same refrigerated thingy. Next to the nummy orange rolls!

The kids are so happy that they haven't even noticed that I didn't bring home a single piece of candy. These kids are candy eaters, Man. It makes me crazy. But they haven't noticed yet. They are so happy with the other Delicious American Stuff. 

Did I mention the prices? I felt like I was stealing this stuff!

Yes, I'm all gaga over the grocery visit and the kids are happy and feeling loved. I think it requires leaving the country to really appreciate the kind of choices available here.

Me?  I'm eating myself some Cheez Its.