Perks on Earth

I am sure many of you who have followed this blog from the beginning have noticed a strong central theme emerge through my writing. An element which runs through each tale told; from the initial goodbyes, the difficult times, and the many highlights over these last two years. That theme, home. Home has been a subconscious constant in everything I have done since I left my childhood home in Ardmore back in September 2022 to begin an unknown adventure. Since then, the concept of home has morphed and changed as I myself have grown. Now, home has moved with me and landed on distant shores. It has found me when I have needed it most, and it has settled with me in Australia, because home is within me in all that I am, everywhere I am.

For me, home is my support system, it is the roots grown deep in the Irish soils of Woodbine Hill. It is the sounds of the waves crashing on Mangans Bay, the smells of the freshly mown lawns in spring, it is the chaotic energy of my family rushing to get out of the front door on time. Home is the seven people I grew up with, the individuals who shaped me into who I am today. My sisters, Clara, Hanna, and Alice, my brother Harry, and my parents. My greatest blessing in this life, is my family. My parents who have supported my hopes and dreams to no end, and have made me feel as though anything is possible with the right intention, motivation, and hard work. When I finished my degree in Edinburgh, they are the ones who supported my dreams of travel, fuelling my desire with their own tales from their 20s spent exploring Africa and Asia. That support has meant that I have truly been able to live in the moment each and every day, home sitting within me each step of the way.

My friend Harris once compared the front door at Woodbine Hill to a turnstile. It always makes me smile how apt of a metaphor this is. Though seven of us occupied that house while I grew up, it was a rarity to have less that 10 people around the dinner table at night. In the summer, it was rare to have less than 20! The chaos of my home was built on the foundations of what we now call an ‘open door policy’. All are welcome, no questions asked. Summer days spent adventuring to the beach, playing tennis into the late evening, feeding the masses, sundowners on Mangans bay, early morning swims in the freezing ocean, apple picking in September. Thinking back to those times, shared with loved ones, I can’t help but smile. Everyone who has walked through the gates of Woodbine Hill understands the colourful chaos that is home to me. A home which has been shared to countless others, providing you are happy to join in the madness that is the RP household. Those moments are the memories which are so ingrained in me, that recollection brings me right back to the very sounds, smells, the warmth of my home. Even now, sitting on the opposite side of the world, I am right back there, a smile spread across my face.

Today as I am more settled into one place, and with one goal for the next years, home has followed me. Not only do I carry my home in my family and in my happy recollections of Woodbine Hill, but I have found a home away from home, Moorabinda. Moorabinda is a property tucked between the rolling hills in the Australian countryside. My beautiful aunt came here many years ago, fell in love with the local farmer (or DJ at that time, go disco!), and the rest is history. Before I came to Australia, I had dreamt of life at Moorabinda. The place where my parents got engaged, where my father spent a year Jackarooing, where my cousins had grown up in that classic Australian dream. Moorabinda was said to be a place of healing, somewhere that operated on that same open door policy as Woodbine Hill, a place that stayed with those who visited long after they departed. I first came here for Christmas in 2022, accompanied by my wonderful family and some of my closest friends. Driving down the 13km dirt road to the farm, I felt that healing. The peace of the land, the warmth of the landscapes, and vastness of the skies. Moorabinda has become a new home for me, and has made me realise that one can have multiple homes. Because home for me is not merely a place, it is a people, a memory, a connection. I am truly blessed to have found and forged a home across the world from where I grew up, with family, healing, and peace.

It has been two years today since I began this blog. Reading back through my past writings, it fascinates me just how different my life looks to what I had expected those many months ago. I’m not quite sure what or where that Ella was expecting to end up, but I think she would be pretty surprised to see me now. Studying for the next 3 years, finding purpose and contentment, and growing roots in a new home in rural Australia. I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if I had not carried home with me each and every step of this journey, and for that I know I am truly the lucky.

Again, I am not sure where these writings will take me for the next two years, but I will warn you, you can expect my common theme to continue. You can also expect the travel tales to return in the near future.. all I’ll say is watch out Sri Lanka, the RP sisters are on the way!