Theoretically—according to our custody arrangement—the kids now stayed there every second weekend and went for dinner Wednesday nights, but they also dropped round whenever they felt like hanging out with their father.

And, instead of pining for my babies as I once might have, I’d made the most of those weekends, escaping to Ragged Point to finish what I’d started on the shack, which was where Stacy and Roxanne were currently staying. We’d wanted them to have their own space and privacy, but also because me, the kids, Hayley, Wei and their adorable baby, Alby, were staying in the glass monstrosity with Dan.

Our American visitors had gushed when they’d first seen the shack and I had glowed accordingly. The end result was even better than I’d imagined. Meili and Wei had been over the moon, the shack had been fully booked since registering it on Airbnb and had almost all 5-star ratings. I’d written an article about the transformation and it had been published in an actual print magazine. The cheeky local possum had not only featured in my story but also become the resident pet, living between the trees out the front and in the special nest Dan had made. Guests were informed of its presence and encouraged to leave pieces of cut-up fruit on the porch rail.

Payton loved the possum so much she wanted me to create an Instagram account for it. I hadn’t admitted it to her yet, but I was seriously giving it some thought! That’s if I could find the time in my busier-than-ever life. Because, you see, although the print byline had given me a massive thrill, the real reward had been the transformation of the shack itself.

It had reminded me how much I loved home renovation.

Even more than I did tinkering with words on a keyboard. The moment I realised this, I decided to make my passion my livelihood. This had been a massive leap of faith, but with the encouragement of family and friends it was paying off.

Now, although I still helped Jedda with the Reporter and had sold a few more freelance articles in the early days to help pay the bills—including a big feature about Bill and the island—I’d all but given up writing and earned a reasonable living helping people renovate and redecorate instead. Dan and I were about to buy another rundown old house in Ragged Point to do up and sell. Apparently, this was called flipping houses, but whatever you called it, I absolutely couldn’t wait.

Of course, this was going to require me spending more time up here than every second weekend, so Adrian and I had decided to give the whole nest-parenting thing another go and this time I felt confident in our ability to succeed.