Saturday 13 Feb 2015

On Saturday morning we transported a couple of the larger items from the lock-up in Coffs Harbour to Sawtell. Ruby had found another future housemate called Cat, who we had the fortune to meet later that morning on the way to the house that she, Ruby, Toby would be moving into the following week.

The house was a rectangular weatherboard bungalow with three bedrooms and a small wooden porch. The floors were made of polished wood, and it was entirely devoid of furniture. The previous owner clearly had a green thumb: there was a well-clipped lawn and, near the back door, there were some herbs, vegetables and a citrus tree.

One of Ruby’s work colleagues lives in a house directly across the road, so we were introduced to her and several of her children. There is sweet sorrow in helping one of your children settle in a faraway town, so were grateful to find that Ruby already had the seeds of a community sprouting around her, in the form of a household and a friendly neighbour.

After chatting to Liz, we went to a pub in Sawtell and enjoyed a pizza and a beer. We were joined there by one of Ruby’s old and dear friends, Lily, who was visiting a grandfather who lives in the area.

After lunch, the four of us went for a swim on Sawtell Beach, catching waves and catching up with each other’s lives.

After we took leave of Lily, in the early evening, Susie, Ruby and I had dinner as a Japanese restaurant in Sawtell to celebrate her landing there.

Later in the evening, we started packing in order to get an early start the next day. We would be driving back to Sydney, leaving our firstborn to start a new chapter in her independent life.