Holiday Envy

When we left Canada a few years ago, one of the realities that we knew we would face was the fact that holidays weren’t going to be the exotic affairs that we’d been enjoying from the frozen North.

Let’s face it, choosing to put 4 kids through private school is no small feat and the reality is that travelling anywhere from Australia is bloody expensive. One of the prices one pays for being so far away from everywhere else.

For the first couple of years I can’t say that it bothered me much. We’ve been lucky enough to holiday with family and friends and settle back into the life that we were accustomed to before Canada.

But we also had our eyes opened to a whole other way of holidaying. The skiing, the cruising, seeing parts of the world that you thought you just might never get the chance to … it might seem easy to give up at face value but it gets under your skin.

I guess it really got under my skin a long time ago. I left home and went to Singapore. Caroline and I married and took off to Europe for 3 months. That really set the tone. We talked on and off for years about going overseas to work again, but the whole having a family process meant that we didn’t chase it with any vigour. Then Canada came up … the timing was perfect and it was like fate had stepped in.

Now we’re home again. We’ve been back for 3 years and I’m getting itchy feet. I don’t want to pack up and move overseas, I just want a holiday. A holiday that sadly we just can’t afford right now.

It hurts when you get offers like 20% off Qantas flights … and then find out that it’s just when Michael will be starting year 12. Bugger.

So it’s back to dreaming and living vicariously through other people’s holiday photos on facebook. Keep them coming, I can deal with holiday envy … it just fuels the dream and desire. And one day I’ll be the one that’s posting exotic pictures and a new set of adventures to write about.