Soon we will be home, it all feels so surreal. I thought the time would go slow, but it has actually just hit me, how very close we are now. We fly home on 15th September and arrive home 17th September. The 16th gets lost somewhere in the sky I guess. Sadly that's my best friends birthday (my Aussie Jenni) but we will celebrate and in some weird way maybe it's a good omen. We have been busy packing and making arrangements, I didn't realize how much there was and is to do before we leave. When I left Australia, it was easy, adrenaline pumped my way there to save my child, but the return home is different. Mixed emotions of leaving people behind here, anxiety of seeing people I have not seen in almost 8 years and excitement of just being on home soil again. Dylan is doing great, he is swimming at the free pool across from our apartment everyday and making the most of his summer. Cain is playing his bass and doing the usual teenage drama. My other best friend Jennie (Alyssa's mom) is in Florida to set up her new life there, I miss her so much. I have seen a few parents who have come in for scans, knowing it's likely the last time I see them. It's so emotionally draining, saying goodbyes have never been something that I am good at, and neither is change. You would think by now that I adapt well, but in all honesty it's very hard for me. Bear is set up for 30 days quarantine when he gets to Australia, but we can visit him twice a week. Dylan will have his last scans in the last week of August and we are making plans on an oncologist in Australia I will work with for Dylan's 6 monthly scans. A HUGE thank you to Jim and Qantas for helping to get us home and making plans for us. Also a HUGE thank you to our friends and family who are ready and waiting to help us transition into Australian life again. We will be staying in Jenni's living room and plan to visit friends and relatives for about 4 weeks before we start work. Tim and I do have a few jobs in the pipeline so we are confident financially that we can be in our own rental by Christmas. This is the plan anyway, things change, sometimes you just have to go where fate takes you, ride the waves and try and keep your head above water. More children have passed that we knew well, and this is only a reminder of the cloud that will always loom over Dylan's life. But it has not rained, so we will keep on as if everyday is sunny and live it to the fullest. Dylan is a long term survivor, 8 years of living with cancer (yesterday was his anniversary). He is so grown up in a lot of ways, and immature in others. Tonight he was talking about swimming at the pool and how someone asked about his scars. He told her happily, he said he does not mind, but he does not want people to feel sorry for him, he wants to be treated like "normal". If you don't get regular updates on Dylan's blog, I will be back, but as you can imagine, I am per-occupied with the whole move right now. I do update a little more on facebook, and you can always send me a message via my page :)
