Life has been difficult since Kyle died in many ways, and loosing my job, trying to make a small business work and health issues have all taken their tole. Turning adversity into opportunity we made the difficult decision to sell our home in Tapping and downsize to free up some equity, move somewhere cooler and enjoy retirement or at least semi retirement on our dream of a little hobby farm!
Whilst we are positive about this new adventure and the needed changes it will bring to our lives there are obviously ties that make leaving Perth difficult, my daughter Christina and grandkids will now be 5 hrs away instead of 15 min, I will be leaving the house that Kyle, Cash and Cebar (my fur baby) were last in and of course I will no longer be able to visit the places I connect with Kyle as frequently – the crash site, Pinnaroo and the dog beach. That said Kyle has already sent signs that he approves of the Mount Barker place and I know he will be with me wherever I live.
On the 8th Anniversary of his death we took flowers to Pinnaroo and went up to the crash site at Gidgeganup and removed his marble plaque. I will take it with me and create a memorial garden at my new home – so I can still have the energy of the last place he was alive with me for connection. Before I make the move in early March, I will also visit the dog beach again and I still have the male crystal to match the female in the dune with his ashes, and it will also go into Kyle’s garden at my new home for that energetic connection. Of course I will still get to go to these places when I visit Perth from time to time, it just can’t be as often due to the 5 hr drive each way from Mount Barker!
Kyle was a floor and wall tiler, so I decided to commission a talented lady called Maria, who does beautiful mosaic tile work, to make a bird bath with a dragon fly on a Darwin waterlily as a feature for what will be Kyle’s tropical memorial garden since he was born in Darwin. I also had a custom plaque make for Cebar’s Memorial Garden, which will have an Australian native theme to is as he so loved his walks in the local bushland.
We are going to call our new home “Mulberry Cottage”. I took some Mulberry cutting from Vince’s parents garden before his Dad passed and we have them in pots at Tapping, these will now go into the ground at our new home along with some of his parents ashes to create a memorial garden for them with an English country garden feel to it. I bought a one of a kind (ready-made) blue wren table from Maria for the Partridge Memorial Garden.
To some people it might sound strange or even a bit morbid to be planning 3 memorial gardens, along with the happy thoughts of raising chickens and growing veggies. But we want to remain connected to the ones we love and miss and have them be part of our new home – we see it a positive aspect and a way of honouring them in our new adventure and life’s journey.