Chapter 40 - Another goodbye...

It’s a sad day today… Birna left Australia… another tearful farewell.

The past month has been so great however. Birna and I spent so much quality time together. We sorted things out and realised that what we have is a beautiful thing… something that is too good to let go.

We shared many wonderful things the past few weeks… obviously our trip to the Whitsundays was awesome! We also spent a couple of nights in Brisbane where we went on a big shopping spree (my credit card is still feeling hung-over from the experience!) We also enjoyed Christmas and New Years Eve together - true to our 2007 New Years resolution that we would see in 2008 together.

I would have to say though, that some of the moments I enjoyed the most were the ones where Birna and I got to spend time with each other’s family. I am a very family-oriented person… so spending time with Birna’s family – Árni, Freyr, Hildur and Hrannar, really meant a lot - they truly are beautiful people. I was also really happy that Birna got a chance to spend time with my family and get to know them better.

One thing that has been a shame though is the weather – it has been really windy and rainy for weeks now! It’s pretty amazing actually – I haven’t seen weather like this on the Gold Coast in years! The winds reached up to 100km… it feels like it has rained more in the last few weeks than it has in the last few years… we also had the coldest Christmas’ in seven years (at 26 degrees!)… and the beaches have been closed for the past five days due to dangerous conditions... with more wild weather on the way. Birna hardly saw the sun at all while she was here – she was very annoyed that she would be returning to Iceland without a tan! It's pretty funny though - Freyr and I always tell Birna how great the weather is here, yet she doesn’t believe a word of it now as all she saw was grey skies and rain! Of course Birna took every opportunity to rub it in that there was no sunshine… but I just smiled to myself knowing that I would be the last one laughing - as she is the one going home to sub zero temperatures and returning to days where if she blinks she will miss the sunlight! ;-)

It all makes perfect sense though... When I was in Iceland over the summer, it was one of the best summers they had – lots of sunshine and warm weather. Birna told me that the day I left, it started raining… and it hasn’t stopped since (and she wasn’t just talking about her eyes!) And now Birna comes to Australia and the weather turns terrible! Hmmmm... I think it’s all pretty clear don’t you?

So it’s back to reality now... Back to work next week – starting my new job at Sarina Russo. In the meantime, Iceland will remain in my heart (and in my stomach as I eat my way through the many kilos of icelandic chocolate Birna brought over for me!)