On this day…making a tree change

Do you have that app on Facebook that shows you what you were doing on this day over a number of years? I do, and every morning I have a trip down memory lane re-discovering what I was doing. Last year we were away so there’s lots of lovely summery, happy photos. Then a few years further back are a selection of ranty status updates complaining about everything. I was miserable it seems, and so was Harper who was cutting teeth and dealing with TWO perforated ear drums.

Yesterday it was 5 years ago that we cut a weekend away short (due to Harper needing to go to hospital) and when Rob uttered those magic words that changed our lives “life isn’t meant to be this hard, it just isn’t. Maybe we should move to the country?”.

5 years.

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Many of you have been reading the blog since before then, most probably after and more recently. But for those wanting a trip down memory lane you can see the entire story unfold from then in these series of posts:

The one where I quit my job
The one where the seed to make a change was planted
The one where I got really excited about maybe moving and feeling alive
The one where we made an offer on our house
The one where our decision was made…we were moving!

I love reading back over these posts and it’s just another reason to be grateful for this blog…that all those thoughts and memories and moments are captured in words. I can instantly remember what I was feeling….without having written them down they would just be vague recollections.

Since then I have written about our move lots of times:

The one where we moved in
The tree change 1 year on recollection
The tree change 2 years on recollection
The tree change 3 years on recollection
The tree change 4 years on recollection
The weigh up

And there’s so much still yet to come. Yesterday when I was sitting on the couch, reading that silly app on Facebook I was reminded of just how far we have come. And how that one throwaway line, abolsutely changed our lives for the best.

Have you ever made a big change in your life on a whim?
Made a tree/sea change?
Use that app on Facebook?

Comments

  1. I was born in Germany where my German Dad & English Mum were happily settled. Me & my dodgy heart spent a large amount of the first 2 years of my life in hospital with pneumonia. My doctors told mum & dad that my only chance at surviving childhood depended on me living in a warmer climate. My maternal grandparents had already moved from England to Australia some years before so the decision was made…….Australia it was……we arrived 3 months before my 3rd birthday. Pretty huge change for mum & dad.
    I use that thing on facebook but have obviously had a rather boring life since starting facebook as I haven’t had any exciting memories pop up yet, all been rather average πŸ™‚

  2. I’m currently dreaming of a tree change. Going to read these now. Thanks, Beth!

  3. Simone P says

    Are you a fellow Friends fan Beth? All my albums on Facebook are titled “The one with”

  4. Shocked she had TWO perforated ear drums. She has come a long way

  5. I remember that time and those posts so well!

    ALL of our big moves/changes in life are made on a whim, in fact one such rash decision was made this week. Stay tuned…

  6. We made the sea change five years ago too, although we are much older than you guys. Thought we might miss the city, but we absolutely love it.
    PS: just made your zucchini soup ~ delicious and easy, just how I like my recipes. Zoe xx

  7. Hi Beth!
    I am new to your blog but I just love it! I have enjoyed soaking it all in. Great stuff!
    Danielle

  8. Lisa Mckenzie says

    No I haven’t got that app Beth but I don’t think it would be that interesting.I love that you made the change to luve in the country it suits you and you have a lovely house and community there Xx

  9. I love that app. It really makes you appreciate how much your life has changed in the last 5 years. At the moment, it gives me updates about how my pregnancy was going with my almost 5 year old. Seems like a lifetime ago, and yet only a few moments too!

    Our whole tree change / return to the family farm was made on the back of an off the cuff remark I made about 5 years ago. 3 1/2 years later, we are here to stay too. Life has changed so much since then. But boy, is it good!

  10. Thank you for posting this, Beth. It is cold & wintery here in suburban Melbourne which is the perfect kind of day to just read and read. As I am a new comer to your blog it is great to read your back story. So glorious where you are living, I’d love to do something similar. Some days suburbia just depresses me. Keep living, and enjoying the dream. πŸ™‚

  11. Dirtgirl says

    Yes, I made a life changing decision to come to Australia from UK at the age of 20 as a Β£10 pom. I knew no one here, but just felt it would be a better lifestyle here. That was almost 45 yrs ago. I met a fellow Brit, have been married 44 yrs, have 2 children, 3 grandchildren and have never once regretted making that decision. I must admit at the time it didn’t seem such a big thing to do, because after all we do think we know it all at that young age. My parents were heartbroken, but agreed years later I had made the right choice in life.

  12. FIVE years already. Holy smokes! But oh man, what a fantastic adventure.

  13. I am obsessed with that app. It’s like a new daily ritual! So many memories have come back to me – some better than others, but I’m grateful for them because they make up my story!
    I love seeing how far I’ve come in life and how certain events have shaped me.

  14. I hadn’t heard of it – a bit of nostalgia and positivity each morning sounds good! Just learned of your blog through my blog/real life friend Mel at The Cook’s Notebook – great blog! Looking forward to binge reading it asap.

  15. Thanks for sharing! I am mentally chewing the fat over the idea that we should move to Young NSW from Sunny Brisbane when the babies come along. So many pros…so many cons…

  16. I have been reminscing and writing about my ‘Tree Change’ that happened some years ago. So I wanted to see how others feel about it and here I am. I have enjoyed your ‘fun way’ of writing about what you’re doing without worry or care about what “others” think. Good on you. You are being yourself and enjoying it.

    I am truthful, but a wee bit more restrained in the way I documented the big changes in my life, like leaving a tiny sunny island, to live in the largest island – Australia.

    Of course I lived in the city for quite a while. That is all I knew at the time, and I needed to work and progress to better jobs. But eventually it happened. I found myself living on a little heaven of green hills, towering trees, cows and sheep and goats for company.

    If you want to compare our experiences, my articles are on Hubpages and my name there is MarieLB and I have two articles relating to my Tree Change to date. I bet I’ll write more, cause there is so much that I learned in those years.

    I am no longer on the farm, but I live not far from there in a tiny town surrounded by beautiful beaches. So now, I guess I could write about a Sea change, Ha Ha!!

    I’ll be back to read more of your blog. I love the tone.

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