This is my entry for the Nov 2009 Quote Me challenge, and was entirely inspired by Yam's heartfelt LO Missing Iowa.

So I started with an idea like Yam's and, well, I guess I got a bit carried away. Everyone knows I like to journal, but this one is really a bit deep and not in the least bit light hearted or sarcastic, as is my want. And I'm guessing the words are too small to be seen, so here goes...heart on sleeve time. And yes, this is the 4th LO I have done on this very topic!

Why do I keep doing this to myself? There are so many other topics I could scrap. Even other, more worthy painful ones. But I keep coming back to this one. It causes an ache so deep that doesnt seem to get any better with the passing of time. With the benefit of having been away for 1 years now, I can smile and enjoy my memories about Singapore, but these memories invariably lead me to remember our wonderful home. And then I start to sink thinking about just how much I miss that house. We didnt even own it. In fact we only rented it for 17 months less time than we lived at Astrid Meadows, which I loved, but I dont yearn for. I truly yearn for Victoria Park Road. I miss its quirkiness around every corner was yet another room, I miss living on one level (Percy Rd has 6 flights of stairs!), I miss the cool verandah with the wind blowing in, I miss the sweeping drive even if it did get too hot to walk on, I miss the garden with its tropical fruit trees, I even miss being startled by geckos on my kitchen counter. I dont miss the mozzies but they werent the houses fault. I miss the fact that we could accommodate 35 children and their parents for a party when it bucketed down with rain and we couldnt go outside, but we all fitted in. I miss the fact that I felt so proud of the house, the garden and that we were living in something so much nicer than all those modern semi-Ds I saw. I miss the happy times we had there Woodys 2nd & 3rd birthdays, Ginny & Paddy enjoying the garden, my 40th, Dominics World of Warcraft alter ego, even our leaving party.

I felt so at home there, like Id come home. But we had to leave. I miss my friends from Singapore, but Im still in contact with them. I miss the school, but the kids are in a good school here now. I miss the makan, but we can cook or buy that here. But I cant recreate the house. Furthermore, I know that should we ever return to Singapore it will have been torn down and replaced with the faceless condo, built all over our beautiful garden. And the glorious and bountiful rambutan tree will have been destroyed.

I have to stop now before I evoke a spontaneous bout of crying.


Credits:
All Elements: Sue Cummings, oscraps.com, 52 Inspirations 2009 Wk 42 Spontaneity
Inked Edges: Cheryl Barber, scrapgirls.com, Inked Edges 4102 Neutrals Basics
Font: DJB Lizzy Fizzed Out by Darcy Baldwin, DearJoe4, Times New Roman & Andale Mono