That’s a wrap folks!

As our adventurous trip comes to a conclusion I wonder who has learnt more about themselves and the world, myself or my girls.

As a mother observing her children under new and demanding circumstances each day that are out of the ordinary, I’ve been amazed at what I’ve discovered. I expected that Sunny and Rosiegirl would sense the ‘bigness’ of our world pretty quickly but for Sunny, this moment came only a couple of weeks ago whilst flying from Iceland to NYC via Helsinki. She just seemed to suddenly ‘get it’ that the world is a huge and awe inspiring place and that home is indeed very, very far away. She has really missed socializing with her peers, having constant contact with her friends and expressing herself creatively. She is busting to go back to school, make her own food (yes, this trip has turned both girls off from wanting to eat out again for a long time) and sleep in her own bed. Her capacity to embrace the hugeness of the world and go with the flow has been her constant challenge. But since her new worldview epiphany, Sunny has been more relaxed in herself as well as with her fellow travelling companions. A true gift for us all! There has been nowhere to hide on our trip if one of us at any time were struggling with something. Each person’s struggle flashed like a bright red beacon for all the family to see and each of us in our turn experienced it’s blinding light.

Rosiegirl is a natural at travelling so long as she doesn’t lose or misplace something! Her unquestionable acceptance and comprehension that our world is a huge canvas waiting to be noticed and painted has given her boundless energy, enthusiasm and endurance to just be in the moment at each given location. She’s been able to use her favourite creative outlet on our entire trip, which has kept her spirit and passion positive and excited. Her decision very early on in the trip to have minimal contact with home gave her space mentally to enjoy the rewards of travel. She is definitely looking forward to seeing her friends, going back to school, eating her own food and sleeping in her own bed but these desires haven’t caused her any major emotional pain – very different to Sunny’s experience.

Another major point of observation is in relation to the lack of face to face peer contact my girls have had over these past 3 months and its impact on them as individuals as well as on their relationship with each other. Teenage girls can be mean and nasty to each other, and my girls are certainly no exception. They have had tears, yelling, hitting, pushing, running away and lots of anger and frustration at times and yet have survived, I think, for the better. They know each other super well now – the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m sure the fruit of their closer sisterly bond will be evident over the months to come as only last week they have wanted to shop together, hang out in Times Square together, do hair and makeup together and started making some plans together for when they get home. My hope is that this newfound understanding and appreciation of each other will become the foundation for a strong, loving, caring and supportive sibling relationship for the rest of their lives. A great by-product of our trip indeed!

It’s our last morning in NYC. We watched Waitress the Musical last night with Katharine McPhee as the lead as our final hoorah on this trip. What a fabulous show to end on! Such talented people, great inspiration and lots of fun and laughter too. We all loved it and had a fun night together – of course no-one could sleep afterwards being on a show high so right now the girls are getting their final sleep in before we head home later today. It’s been a wildly emotional ride these past 14 weeks for all of us in our different ways but I am grateful for these challenging experiences. Constant uncertainty has at times pushed Sunny and Rosiegirl to their limit but will no doubt increase their inner capacity to cope with new things in the future and to just trust the journey.

What an awesome gift to give to ourselves – the gift of being present in each moment. If my girls can do this their whole lives what a life it will be.

On a final note, I’d like to share the day I became a ‘cool’ Mum in Rosiegirl’s eyes. It happened when we were in Zermatt Switzerland and I bought myself a backpack. Now this is no ordinary backpack, it’s a Fjällräven Kånken backpack, the recycled re-kånken type! The look on her face when I decided to buy it was priceless. She was so proud of me for getting something so cool and recycled too. Was worth the money just for the response – I felt so good and stepped out of that shop rockin’ my new backpack! Honestly, I think she’s hoping to be able to borrow it once we get home as she is rather a Kånken fan having 2 other types already. That’s ok. I’m down with that. She can borrow my Kånken and I’ll borrow her shoes as on this trip her feet have grown to my size and all her new shoes fit me. That’s a great deal I’m thinkin’!

Thanks to all for reading my posts and journeying with us on our trip. I’ve enjoyed the process of writing very much and hope to do more of it in different ways in the future. Take care and see you in Oz.