Blog 22 - Here We go again

Blog 22.  Catch 22.  Ahh the irony.

Sitting at my desk here in Meringandan, I have packed once again, and prepared myself for another 3 weeks away from home..again. Ive had a great week at home, and am excited about what the next 3 weeks in the Torres will throw at me.

My return to "my life" was not without incident.  On the first night of my homeward journey, one of four mud crabs that I was transporting home, escaped in the Horn Island Motel.  My blood ran cold when in the morning , as I was packing to take my final leg of the trip home, I went to zip up the bag holding my crabs, and the head count was only three.  The blighter was discovered under the bed, cornered and angry.  Getting this cross crustacean back in the bag with his mates proved to be a comedy of errors.  None the less, we got there and commenced our two flight trip home.

My home coming was great.  Jo and the kids drove to Brisbane , fighting through Brisbane traffic to collect me from Qantas. I was armed with hand weaved baskets, frozen Lobster tails, live mud crabs, carvings and a Kundu.

It was fantastic to sit with my people and share the 200+ photos of Saibai.  To hold my family, to smell my own pillow, to just Be.  And it dawned on me during my reflections of my time on Saibai, that whilst I have a heart for this job, and the islanders that I was privileged to serve, the old adage of "Home is where the Heart is" rings true.

So is is with mixed feelings that I prepare to do it all again tomorrow.  Part of me is "game on for the adventure" but the larger part of me is really wanting to stay home, and get on with life.  How privileged I am to have choice, when so many dont.  So Ill suck it up, and get on with it.

This time tomorrow night I may be in the very motel room that I was last Saturday night when my crab escaped, and come Tuesday, a new clinic, on a new island, with a new language, and a different set of rules.

Darnley Island in the Eastern group of Torres Strait Islands is the destination, and I pray that the stories and experiences are at least half as colourful as Saibai.

When next I blog, Ill be in shorts, and a t-shirt and talking to you from the tropics.
Here we go again.