Day 44 – Back in Newcastle

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This was a post I was not sure if I was going to write or not. Why we’re on this trip. There’s no one simple answer. It is a series of big events and simple circumstances.

February last year, my brother Ken was diagnosed with a rare and fundamentally incurable cancer. That tends to get your attention about how you are spending your life. Later that year, a very good friend of mine had a really close call with a rather nasty cancer (not sure there is a non-nasty type).

Justine’s step-father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016, and in September 2017 he passed away after a year of pain and ultimately futile treatment.

Then to top all this off, my good friend and business partner’s wife died suddenly of a stroke a year ago. How short life can be!

I’ve summarised this in four short sentences, but the reality is these are four lives and four families that have had their lives change so dramatically from the plans they must have thought lay ahead for them.

That was the why, the how was a little simpler and mundane, Firstly, Justine had been made redundant from CBA earlier in the year, it was a relief, the office had become a toxic workplace. She also wanted to spend more time with the kids so didn’t want to rush back to the workforce.

Carlos and My business has matured a lot and with the team in place didn’t need me day to day.

Finally, the fact that the kids are old enough to enjoy and remember it, but as they are still in primary school it should not impact their education too much.

It really felt like let’s do it now or never. It was still interesting to ask Justine “what do you think about buying a van and going around Australia later in the year?”