This is my last post on this blog. The only fabric in this post is the fabric of my life. The only stitches are one perfect row done by a hilariously sweary man. My time in Christchurch is over and with it this blog. I am going offline and I may be some time... so time to euthanise this blog to make way for another sometime down the track.
So here is one of my children's favourite songs to be going out on: "So long and thanks for all the fish". Hopefully I'll depart gracefully and gratefully just like the creatures singing that song. The second line of that song - "So sad that it should come to this" - is apt, as while our whole ten years here have been a pretty wild ride, the past few months have been especially bumpy.
During the ten years I've lived in Christchurch, I've lost a parent, had one child diagnosed with a brain tumour (there are those perfect stitches), and the other child with juvenile arthritis; all this while my partner had a job that saw him alternating between being away from home for months of one year then literally working every waking moment for six months of the next. (When that came to an end last year, I have to admit I focussed on the aspects of Christchurch I've always really disliked, but now I don't give a darn.) This year my partner has lived and worked out of town and I've prepared for our move to Australia.
Despite all this, and thanks to our wonderful family and friends, we leave Christchurch happy, well, sane, together and excitedly looking forward to building a great new life in a new place.
These pictures of my family were taken by an amazing artist called France Herve who was in Christchurch during the 2009 Christchurch Arts Festival staging her show "My heart is a beast". The photo session was her way of saying thank you to my partner. We are Deidre, Guy, Matilda and Harvey.
So long Christchurch. Be good.
(PS My new blog about my new life In Mandurah, Western Australia, is called Pearl E Queen and it lives here.)
