I’ve always done things the hard way. Often it’s a curse, but on rare occasions it has also been a blessing. I’ve found you really have a deeper appreciation of things when they don’t come so easily. And that’s why I had to fly almost 10,000 miles (one-way) and cross the International Date Line to find my way home.

My dear wife and I recently returned from a three-week tour of Australia. Well, our bodies have returned, but our circadian rhythms are marching to the beat of a different time zone. Jetlag is real, y’all. Oh well, a small price to pay for a marvelous adventure Down Under.

Everyone always asks the same question when we return from a trip – “What was your favorite part?” That’s usually a tough one to answer, but not this time. The most favorite part of our trip had nothing to do with our tour. Don’t get me wrong, the tour was great. We covered a lot of ground – taking three internal flights. Australia is massive and we went from Melbourne (the coastal capital of Victoria) to Uluru (the largest sandstone monolith in the world) to Cairns (the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef) to Sydney (the most populous city in Australia). That’s over 4,000 miles of flying – and a lot of Tim Tams – Australia’s denser, chewier version of our Kit Kat. Highly recommend!

There were lots of highlights – my wife got to feed a kangaroo – shut up! And we dined outdoors under the Milky Way in the Outback. Honestly, every day was spectacular except for our ill-fated trip to the Great Barrier Reef. My wife is such a trouper that even though she suffers from motion sickness, she signs up for the full experience. She wore a Scopolamine patch AND took Dramamine for our voyage. The seas were angry that day and let’s just say we shall henceforth refer to that World Heritage Site as the Great Barrier Barf.

Australia is bursting with natural wonder, unique wildlife, stunning coastlines, and vibrant cities. And Australians are lovely, laid-back, friendly folks. You hear them say, “No worries, mate” a lot and that pretty much reflects their relaxed approach to life. This was all no surprise to us since we got to know a handful of Aussies on a 2014 tour of Italy. They were a joyous lot of 13 ranging in age from 15 to over 70 and came from all over Australia. We could tell this was the group to hang out with from day one and we shamelessly glammed on to them. And two weeks later when we tearfully said our goodbyes, we vowed to see each other again one day.

We kept up over the years through Facebook and some of them would have reunions every now and again and drunk FaceTime us – oblivious to the 14-hour time difference. We always loved hearing from them, even if it was 5 AM for us. One reunion they even had little dolls with our names on them and posed us in all the pictures. No wonder we fell in love with these fun-loving goofballs.

And now I’m finally getting to the favorite part of our trip to Australia – our eleven years in the making reunion with our Aussie mates. We gave them all the head’s up that we were coming their way when we booked our trip almost a year ago. Our tour ended in Sydney, but Leeanne, mother of four grown sons and grandmother to two littles, generously offered to host us in her home. She and her husband Neil and her younger sister Michelle and her husband Darren all live within miles of each other in Newcastle, New South Wales. And our other Lee-Anne – what are the odds? – lives about eight hours north of them in Broadbeach, Queensland on the Gold Coast. We had a plan and the countdown was on.

The only thing we didn’t factor in was the Easter holiday weekend, so when Leeanne and her oldest son Ryan (now known as St. Ryan) picked us up in Sydney, the two-hour drive to Newcastle took about five hours. We hardly noticed. We talked non-stop and Leeanne had stocked the car with water, snacks, lollies (Australia’s word for candy) and tissues for rest stops in case they were out of toilet paper (they were). We felt so cared for.

We arrived in Newcastle and Neil and Lee-Anne were waiting for us on the deck, wine glasses in hand. And anybody who says there’s no crying in reunions is wrong. We hugged each other’s guts out. And we did it all over again when Michelle and Darren arrived a few hours later. The reunion was on!

What followed was one of the best weekends of my life. We were deeply ensconced in a bubble of laughter, love, and connection. It was magic. The first night we sat on the deck overlooking the Watagan Mountains and talked for hours. And Leeanne’s son Matt dropped by with his new baby Lewis – better known as Koala Baby. We passed Lewis around like a potato and he clung tightly to each of us – no tears. Leeanne and Neil have created such a beautiful family – their love and affection for each other is palpable. Oh, and when we finally said our goodnights, everyone hugged and kissed us again. We were ready to fill out the adoption papers – for us, not Lewis.

The next morning when I stumbled into the kitchen for coffee, both Leeanne 1 and Lee-Anne 2 kissed me good morning and asked how I slept. “Like a koala baby,” I said. True story. And I was so glad we weren’t in a hotel. There’s something so sweet and intimate about greeting the day with dear friends in your pjs.

Leeanne and Michelle had planned a wonderful overview of Newcastle, and our first stop was the Newcastle Memorial Walk overlooking the spectacular coastline. We had to cross a terribly busy street with cars zooming by and as an opening appeared, Leeanne took my hand firmly in hers and held it until we arrived safely on the other side of the street. You may not understand how I felt if you are lucky enough to still have a mom, but at that moment I was a little girl again and I did not want to let go of that sweet paw. It’s funny – I’m older than Leeanne and about six inches taller than her, but she has big Mom energy – and I mean that in the absolute best sense. She is loving and caring and nurturing in such a natural and gentle way.

That’s how the whole weekend felt – like we were being held. There was a peacefulness surrounding us that I had not felt in a very long time -and certainly not since January 20^th. Australians hate Trump, too, and I felt the global impact of his toxicity in a way I never had. Our Aussie friends are worried about their retirement accounts, too. And they cannot understand how he was elected – again. Ironically, we were in Australia a few weeks before their election although we hardly saw any signs of it. Their campaign season lasts one month. ONE MONTH! And there are no huge rallies – they laughed and told us no one would come to a political rally in Australia much less buy a stupid hat. Politics is not a death match in their country, and they are better off for it.

If America is a clenched fist these days, Australia is an open hand – ready to pat you on the back. Aussies have a jaunty lightness of being that is intoxicating to be around. They simply know how to live. We felt this every minute we shared with our friends, and I’m determined to hang on to this feeling for as long as I can.

Yes, I will still retain my Resistance membership, and I will make my calls to my representatives, and I will work hard for the midterm elections, but I refuse to let Donald Trump steal any more of my joy. Mortality is no longer a random musing for me these days as more and more friends face serious health issues. My meter is running, and I’ve got some more places to go.

Michelle and Darren drove us back to Sydney on Easter Sunday night and we were still gabbing away when it came time to say goodbye. Darren kept shaking his head and saying, “I still can’t believe you guys came.” And then we all squeezed each other tightly – twice.

We’ve been back about three weeks now and some days Australia feels like a dream – sort of like the one that farm girl with the little dog from Kansas had. I mean, it makes sense – we both had to travel a very long way to discover that there’s no place like Oz.