When Home is not quite Home...

I haven't posted in a while.  I'd like to put that down to one thing...but to tell you the truth it is probably due to four things.  The things I have to admit to, include that I'm lazy and just can't be bothered at the end of the day.  I have to also admit to being the kind of person for whom things just have to pop into my head for inspiration, before I can start writing.  Thirdly, we're just so darned busy in our life over here that time is a precious commodity.

Thanks Nanny!

The thing I'd like to put it down to mostly though (and fourthly of course) is that I haven't been able to muster the courage to put the words down given the state of homesickness I have felt following the sad goodbyes to my mum at Abu Dhabi Airport almost a month ago.

We've had other visitors come to stay, and they've tweaked my fond memories of home and I've had brief moments of homesickness.  But nothing can compare to having your mum come for 4 weeks and nothing can prepare you for how hard it will be after she has left.

Atop Jebel Hafeet

We waited so impatiently and excitedly for 'Nanny' to come.  Lily would ask me to tell her how many more sleeps until Nanny came.  We prepared Nanny's room with Lily and Ben's drawings decorating the walls and thought about all the neat things we could do while Nanny was here.  There was as much fun in the planning and expectant waiting as there was in her final arrival.

The moment she walked through the door was an absolute joy.  Lily knew she would be coming and ran to the door, flinging herself at mum and calling her name.  Our little Ben was upstairs with me.  He flew out of his room, down the stairs as fast as his chubby legs could take him; all the time calling out "Nanny, Nanny" at the top of his voice.  Mum's fears of the mokopuna having forgotten her were quickly dismissed as she realised the extent of how much we had missed her.  I felt complete joy too at seeing her, despite the fact that at the back of my mind was the inevitable reality that she would go back out of that door again in four weeks time.  This was, of course, quickly brushed aside.

Al Ain Paradise Gardens

So began Nanny's visit.  Lily spent the first week clinging to Nanny and hating having to go to school while Ben got all the fun staying at home.  Then we had two weeks of Little Miss Naughty in which Lily decided this was the perfect time to exercise barrier-pushing to its limits.  She settled down again in the last week, but truly it has taken until now to get her back to some semblance of the little girl we knew before.  Following Nanny's departure she seemed so sad.  She even told Daddy that she wanted to go back to NZ. We held our breaths. When asked why, she told him, "Because I don't like the taxis here".  Disaster averted.  She had moved on a little.

On the dhow

We took Nanny on all the must-sees of Abu Dhabi.  We did the local things; Jebel Hafeet, Palace Museum, the malls, Jahili Park, Jahili Fort and Indian Curry.  We took her to Fujairah; and despite it being something akin to Sharjah as the 'arse-end' of the UAE, we still had a new experience.  We headed to Dubai and went to the Dubai Mall Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, the Rainforest Cafe, a dhow cruise, Atlantas Aquarium, Global Village, Dubai Museum and Jumeirah Beach.  Mum and I also let ourselves loose at the Dubai Souks and Heritage Village.  We also went in the opposite direction and saw the Grand Mosque and Corniche.

At Rainforest Cafe

The piece de resistance however, was our trip to Oman.  Muscat was just fabulous and we had 4 terrific days there.  The Oman Dive Centre was a rare treat for us; two days of simply relaxing.  Highlights included walking along the Corniche at night and the breathtaking views of the forts and palaces at Muttrah.  On our way home we were stopped by an army vehicle before heading back into the UAE.  Mum was totally excited at the prospect of having a photo taken with the machine-gun clad army guys who hailed us down to check our passports.  Having cautioned her with a 'no mum, not ok here' lecture, we probably would have gotten away with it after they checked our passports and greeted us with smiles upon learning that we were from New Zealand.  That's the cool thing about Oman - the people seem to love Kiwis, and the best thing about being there was that we felt we were mingling with normal people again. There's certainly something incredible about these Arab cousins who are so vastly different...

Incognito at the Grand Mosque

The day mum left I found it hard to keep the tears back.  In fact, I did a very poor job of it.  My tears flowed as we drove the 1 1/2 hours to the airport.  The only thing to distract me from this was the fact we got a flat tyre on the way - just 10 minutes from the airport, and with only 20 minutes to spare for mum's final check-in.  Mind you, I was close to tears as the kids melted down and the cars rushed past us in excess of 140km as Jason changed the tyre.

We made it though.

Oman Dive Centre

It is hard to imagine what Nanny might think of this place and this experience for us.  It is so insanely different to our life back in NZ and of course to her life.  She has mentioned once or twice that it feels like a dream - there's just no way of explaining to loved ones back home what this place is really like.  There's just nothing in most Kiwis' experiences to compare this to.  She saw the good and the bad; how hard this life can be and how neat it can be.  It is not a place that could ever replace home; our real home back in New Zealand.  Because no matter how nice our villa is, or how many neat countries and places we visit, or even how wonderful and lovely and supportive our whanau in Al Ain is - home will always be where we are most loved and most settled and most feel 'at home'.  And for the most part this is the place where the warm arms of our extended family are.  I feel my mum's wrapped around me now.

I realise now that it does not matter how long I will be away for.  Because she will be there when I get home.  And so will all the places, and the people who encapsulate what 'home' really is.  For now, we're building something of a temporary home; and that's ok.  And while I have Jason and the kids with me, I guess home will be wherever we park our suitcases.

I miss you mum.
Ka nui taku aroha mōu e mā!