I have some news...

Hi everyone, Kerry from a Tranquil Townhouse here with you today. Charlotta in her infinite wisdom, or more likely a brain addled by packing up a house and all its memories, has entrusted me with a very special task. It is this, to write the last Space for Inspiration post coming out of Australia. Yep, Charlotta and her beautiful family are catching a plane in a few days time and heading back to her homeland Sweden to live.

Charlotta and I never got to meet up in real life. We had plans of course, but the tyranny of distance and busy lives defeated us. But it didn’t matter. As we all know, friendships in blog world transcend time and space and I am honoured, truly honoured to have been asked as an aussie blogger to write this post for someone we’re very happy to call one of us.

As much as Charlotta loves her adopted country (crikey, we’d take her citizenship away if she didn’t), there are compelling reasons to return to Sweden. It’s been 23 years since she lived in the country she grew up in (she must have left as a very young girl!) and with many years as a nomad and with six countries under her belt, she felt the need to reconnect and spend precious time with her parents, her sister, and childhood friends, and immerse herself again in the wonders of her Swedish heritage.  I’ve threatened to visit but I’m not doing the whole rollmop thing...no way...you can’t make me! Can you?

We’ll think of Charlotta and her family as she gets to enjoy the ‘proper’ four seasons once again, not the pretend ones you get in Sydney. The sun will be the same sun but feeling its warmth must surely have special meaning after a long Scandinavian winter. Charlotta did tell me though that come December, while we’re enjoying the beach, she might “beat myself with a Swedish clog and regret leaving this tropical paradise!”  I want a photo of that .

I suspect that the world is too big and exciting for a nomad like Charlotta to stay in the same place for too long. We’ve been lucky to have her for 12 years. A loving husband and two beautiful children were pretty good welcome to Australia gifts don’t you think? And I know that she cherishes every moment spent here; every special person she's met, new friends, wonderful experiences, glorious times.

I know that our gorgeous girl is thrilled to fly off on the next chapter of her exciting life journey, but I also know how hard it is for her to leave. So hard that she wasn’t able to write this post herself.  A Dr Seuss quote “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” has been her mantra in these last few weeks. We’ll remember that as well.

This is a woman who has reached out over the ether to become a friend to me. And I’m sure everyone of you reading this feels the same way. Charlotta has written many times on this blog about her love for Australia, and Sydney in particular. All the photos I’ve shared with you here today are by her very talented husband Marshall and they showcase that love.

Generous, kind, smart, talented, beautiful, caring woman that you are, we’ll miss you but we can’t wait to hear all about your new, old life in Sweden. So to Charlotta, and your dear ones, travel safely and leave a trail of breadcrumbs so you can find your way back one day, ok? Swedish rye.. :)