Good question. And one we have several answers to.
After years of talking about having a farm and then deciding that farm would produce hazelnuts, Harvey and I sat down at the beginning of this year and mapped out our plans. We knew we wanted to have a hazelnut farm, but where? We knew we wanted to move to a farm, but when?
There are many factors that affect the answers to both of those questions. After speaking with hazelnut farmers we knew Tasmania was the best place for our farm, probably just outside Launceston. So that settles where.
When was a different issue. One of the reasons we settled on the NSW Central Coast when returning from living in the UK in 2005 was that I had friends and family here. Both Noah and Ethan are near two of their three sets of grandparents and see them regularly (Harvey’s family lives in England). Most of our friends live either here or in Sydney. Moving interstate meant moving away from them. That was a tough decision to make, and the reason it took us so long to decide.
We also knew we didn’t want to move the boys once they had started school, so the decision had to be made and acted upon by the time Noah turned five, which is in May 2011. So 2010 was the year to decide whether to make the T-change now or wait until the kids had finished school and left home.
One event made us stop all the thinking and just do. About six weeks ago a metal candle holder fell on to my head, bumped by our cat, at about 3am while I slept, causing a head injury. I was concussed and hospitalised and released with post-traumatic headaches, which I am still dealing with now. This made us realise life is too short to keep thinking and never do.
One of my favourite quotes is, “Seize the day” (carpe diem). After all the thinking, we decided now was the time.
We are seizing the day!
