Home.

Hello. It's been a while. What have I been busy with these few months? So many things!

When Baba left us, we both felt we had been dealt the biggest blow. Like, that's it. The universe was telling us Perth is not for us. We had made a mistake. We should pack up, head home and rebuild our lives back there. So within two weeks, we started selling some of our furniture and appliances. We started making plans with movers for our barang2 and the cats. I even reached out to my old workplace to see if they would have me back. And they were so kind and told me they had a spot waiting for me the moment I got back to sg.

And then one evening we were walking in the park, I looked up at the sky and it was the most glorious banner of pinks and oranges and suddenly I felt so, so sad that I was leaving Perth. We worked so hard to get here. We won't ever get this chance again. So we started weighing everything once more. And then decided, we're going to stay. This is home now too. We can't just up and leave. But we had already told our mums we were going home. Told my brother and sister in law. Told friends. We had wanted to go home to them so bad just a month before.

I hate hard conversations. We broke the news to our loved ones that we had decided to stay after all. That we're not just going to give it up and go back to our comfort zone and safety net. Must have broken our mums' hearts but I am so thankful that instead of reacting negatively (I had the worst-case scenarios playing in my head), they showed us only support. Everyone did actually. We recalibrated. Stabilised once more.

The borders finally opened. We went home for raya. It was such a beautiful reunion with loved ones after 2.5 years of being kept away. Spent time with my family and best friends. Mak flew back to Perth with us. I remember when we stepped out of Perth Airport, we hugged her and thanked her for wanting to come see Perth. We all cried and she said "Bapak couldn't be here." Mama and her sisters came 3 months later and we had such a blast showing them around. We even had a birthday party for little ol me. My heart was full.

Before that, everything was just words, or photos, or whatever distracted exchanges we had via videocall. They came and saw how we live our simple, quiet (and very real) lives here. Why we love it here. That Perth isn't just a figment of an imaginary life conjured by these 2 monkeys perhaps going through some kind of mid-life crisis. See, it's not some kind of stunt. It's not something we're doing to prove ourselves to anyone. It's a dream that we've had and we've made come true, and we're living it every day of our lives.

An ex colleague sent me a message when she saw the silly photos I put up of Mama and my aunts when they were here. She said, '...am so happy you chose to stay because I see how that decision brought much joy, peace and just memories that will last a lifetime!" That meant the world to me. People are good. People are kind. People are forgiving and accepting. These same ones share our joy. They celebrate our successes. They love us for who we are, and who we want to be.

And now here I am. Sitting in the kitchen typing this out while my rendang is cooking. My VVIPs: Mama, Ady, Yanie and Zara, are going to be here in 4 days' time (4 DAYSSSS!!!) and honestly I'm trying to keep calm and do everything that needs to be done before their arrival but I am so excited I could explode! I told Yanie the other day, I miss home but home is coming next week! Will be busy.

One of the happiest moments for me was having my mama and aunties here. How lucky am I to be loved like this. This is us at Cottesloe. Just had to show them one of our favourite places here.