It always feels a little weird filling in the space between. Between the last post and a new one, that is.
Where have I been? To put it simply…
We decided to fly off (again) on a whim in December. We booked our air tickets only a few days prior and off we went – that’s how we roll. Specifically, that’s not how I as a sole person would roll but that is how we as a couple and family roll, it seems. It’s not hard to guess whose idea it was (-> my husband’s).
I was extremely hesitant this time. I said to my husband: ‘But we have only been back in Australia for barely 8 weeks’. And he countered with a whole list of reasons. And hey, why would I fight so hard against getting to spend time with my family, having a holiday, seeing my cousins & friends and letting my kids be around family? I’m just really lucky my husband loves visiting Singapore and he gets along so well with my family and friends, he’s always hassling me to catch up with so and so.
The plan was that I got to stay on a little longer with the kids while my husband returned a little earlier to go back to work (referring to his actual work work as well as work on the house).
I sent him to the airport at about 2 in the morning for his flight, said our goodbyes and that was that.
At about 8 in the morning, I started receiving messages from some friends.
“Do you know what happened? They lost contact with a plane.”
A plane?
At that point, my husband’s flight hadn’t landed in Sydney yet. No messages from him.
A plane? What plane? I started googling (as you do), half awake.
It was the Air Asia flight that had departed from Surabaya, Indonesia and was bound for Changi Airport in Singapore.
By mid day, the local news was featuring footage of the section in Changi Airport that had been converted into a relative holding area.
The very familiar area that I was standing at mere hours ago, bidding my husband a short, temporary farewell.
It could have been anyone. It could have been any plane.
I did feel very upset. Another tragedy.
I’m also quite sure my husband’s flight went on a similar flight path near the island of Belitung on the way to back to Sydney. Just mere hours apart.
It can be anyone. It can be any plane.
Inevitably and very naturally, I felt sick in the gut.
Before I left for this spontaneous holiday, I had a whole outline of plans, to-dos, tasks and the lot. I even spent the last 2 days before leaving Australia taking a bulk load of photos of products that I was going to write about on the blog during my holiday.
But I think I will not feel the least bit guilty in saying that, in the end, I just allowed myself to sit back, cherish the time I got to spend with my family and friends. I just did not want to spend a holiday glued to the laptop, on top of the 3 to 4 hours that I already have to spend on work each day.
Normal program will resume soon on the blog… and meanwhile, a belated Happy New Year everyone and give your loved ones an extra special hug x
photo credit: Coley Christine via cc
