Wednesday 24th July 2013: It’s a lovely English summer’s day and I’m in the car on the way to the airport. John Denver’s words play out of the radio: “I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again”. How apt I thought, but I’m glad he’s not a pilot for Cathay Pacific!
I start thinking about the decision to leave my country. It wasn’t an easy one, the idea was a slow burner. There was a lot to weigh up; jobs, property, possessions, emotional ties to friends and family – their support made it easier.
We get to Heathrow in plenty of time. I have mixed feelings. The one-way-ticket is disconcerting. But my uncertain future makes me feel adventurous. It’s a bold move. The person that used to be me would not have done it.
People have asked me, “what brought on this mid-life crisis?”. I prefer to think of it as a mid-life realisation. I have more freedom than the people around me. I might as well use it.
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*Our ticket is a single to Melbourne with an 8 month stop-over in Hong Kong (to cover the backpacking trip).
Ben Rook 