Escape from the City
I thought selling my childhood home would be the hardest thing to do but in reality, it turned out to be the best thing I have done. Going from a 500sqm block in St. Helena to just under 20 acres in St. Andrews has been a big adjustment and a lot of work but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Both my children Kai, aged 9 and Willow, aged 5 are very active, always outside but they enjoy the extreme sports. Yes, they do the normal Basketball, Football and Gymnastics but Kai races Motocross and has since age 4 and Willow rides horses. Living on a small block in St. Helena made it hard to do these activities as we would have to pay to attend tracks weekly for kai to practice and Willow’s horse was agisted in Whittlesea, so an hour round trip.
Since moving to St. Andrews, Willow’s pony Ronald has moved to our property and I have also taken on two ex-racing thoroughbred horses, Harry and Paddy who I adore. Now instead of fighting Willow to get out of bed, she is up and begging me to go for a ride.
At the back of the property, Kai has started cutting in a motorbike track so he can train and practice when ever he likes and since doing so his riding has improved immensely.
There are two kids next door, that we discovered race in the same competitions as Kai, so now they ride and have fun together. As soon as Kai gets up until dinner time, he is outside riding bikes, building forts, swimming in the dams, just having fun being a kid really. The other day I found both the kids going for a swim together, only problem was Willow was wearing a pair of white silk pyjamas in a muddy murky dam, I could not get upset as I am so happy my kids are out in the fresh air, getting dirty and being kids instead of being inside on electronics.
We not only have two horses and a pony but also two dogs Nixon and Frank and a kitten named Toby, but the kids are trying to convince me that we need more, apparently we need some cows and sheep and a goat called Garry. I feel like I may soon be overtaken by animals.
The best thing about living in the ‘Country’ has to be the neighbours and the people around us. Everyone is so friendly and up for a chat. On the second night at the property, our beautiful next door neighbours brought over a lasagne for us with the message from old St. Andrew residents to new St. Andrews residents. Such a nice gesture after a busy day of unpacking.
My husband Craig and I have decided this is our forever house, a home base for our children and a place where everyone is always welcome. It needs a lot of work and a renovation but we have the rest of our lives to slowly chip away at it.
My kids also tell me daily how much they love where we live, and when I ask why it is always a different answer from waking up hearing the cows, riding the horses and motorbikes when ever we want, spending more time as a family. We really are living our best lives.
Ebony Delany
