Finally Australia opens up and making it possible to visit without having to spend two weeks in quarantine! Had to come super prepared with proof of vaccinations, PCR tests (before and after arrivals) and complicated on declarations of health. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Anyway, now I am finally here and able to see my siblings and my aging parents. As my father put it, it’s not his own age that shocks him, it’s the fact that he has a son that is over 60. The physical distance between us is enormous, as is the time between seeing each other, but it’s amazing how you pick up where you left off, and how normal it feels, even though we are all afflicted by the passing of time.

Adelaide feels as though it hasn’t changed since the time I roamed the streets as a confused adolescent growing up. That’s on the surface at least. After all this time, and after Covid, things have probably changed a lot but it’s hard for me to see. When I get around in my rental car it still looks the same, mostly, and I have no trouble finding my way around.

It is extremely troubling to be away from my own family with the shocking situation in the Ukraine. I worry like hell every night before I go to bed about what news I will wake up to in the morning.