Month: April 2013

A restful break

I have been on holidays for the past week and feel really refreshed, even though it’s only been 7 days. Here were the highlights…

A stay-cation

The past few months at work have been really stressful. It was so nice to spend the week at home not really doing…anything. Lots of sleep-ins, afternoon naps and coffees on the verandah.

The weather!

Autumn is always my favourite season, and last week proved exactly why. Gorgeous golden sun, just perfect for picnic weather, followed by cool nights where you can snuggle into your blankets and get a good night’s sleep.

Picnics

We enjoyed a few of these – with friends, family and by ourselves too. We rode bikes, ate ice creams and even squeezed in some water play in the fountains before winter sets in.

A sleep-over

My niece slept over one night – she is Little Miss’s age, they are in the same class at school and sit next to each other. They are cousins and best friends, and it was wonderful to have her come and stay. It was even more wonderful that they played perfectly and we hardly heard a peep from them. But what made it super-dooper wonderful was that Little Miss finally found someone able to match her in her craft obsession. They crafted all day and all night and I barely had to open a glue stick. Heaven help me when that girl discovers Pinterest.

Reading and writing

I read some books and wrote a few chapters of my book. Perfect.

I hope those of you who had school holidays enjoyed them too 🙂

Crossroads

You know how there are those people who know exactly what they want to do and what they want out of life?

I’m not one of those people.

Soul Sister has known since she was in primary school that she wanted to be a teacher. So that’s what she became. She is now on a temporary hiatus as she juggles motherhood and her Master’s degree, but once that’s all done she will return to teaching with a passion and enthusiasm that is quite simply, inspiring. She has always known exactly what her purpose in life is.

Picasso is like this too – I have blogged before about how he wants to be a pediatric nurse. And even though he’s just seven, it won’t surprise me at all if that’s exactly what he ends up doing.

And then there are people like – me 🙂 Over the years I have wanted to be a…film producer/interior designer/psychologist/writer/lawyer/journalist/architect/archeologist/marine biologist…ah, the list goes on.

Right now I am working in the world of Corporate Affairs in Media, and for a while I felt as though I had found my niche. But…now I’m not so sure. And I can’t help wondering – is it me? Am I the problem? I just don’t seem to be able to settle on an occupation and be satisfied with it for the long term.

I still have dreams of being an author, of going back to Uni and finishing my PhD, of renovating a house and travelling the world. And then I wonder if I am wasting my time on pipe dreams -if there will ever be a career or job I feel is the “right” fit, or if I’ll just do a whole lot of different things throughout my life and be OK with that, even though it won’t really get me anywhere.

So in some ways I feel at a bit of a crossroads. Maybe it has something to do with being 35 and nearly 36 – and feeling ready for a new challenge.

I can’t believe it’s just me – there must be others out there who feel like I do, as though you’re a slightly odd-sized shape that NEARLY fits a few different holes, but just not quite.

I’d love to hear from you if you are out there 🙂

xxx

Ups and downs in the journey

We reached a difficult bend in the road for our little family this week. Our lovely old dog had to be put down, which was incredibly sad for all of us. I gave her to Souljourneyboy as a birthday present about 14 years ago, and she has grown up with our family ever since. She lived a good life and we loved her very much – the kids were devastated, and we had a very sad couple of days as we grieved her loss.

As Soul Sister reminded me, though, grieving loss like this is actually one of the good reasons why children should have pets. It’s hard and it’s horrible, but it actually teaches them about grief and loss and how to heal in a healthy way. Very important life lessons.

Happier milestones were reached this week too – for several months, Picasso and Bookworm have been saving up for mountain bikes, and this week they reached their goal amount. We brought them home from the shop and they have been riding every spare minute! Inspired by their efforts (and not to be left out for one second) Little Miss decided she wanted to learn how to ride without training wheels. So within a day she had learned! I love that girl’s determination.

Pain and loss happen, and life moves on. That’s both sad and sweet – but it’s not as though we forget our losses, we just learn to live with them and heal as best we can. And the rest of our journey is somewhat more meaningful because those who we have left behind – whether they be loved pets, friends, or family – have played a significant part in us becoming the people we are today.

Love to all of you who are experiencing some kind of loss on your journey at this time xxx

 

 

 

Odds and ends

I don’t have anything significant to share today, just a few bits and pieces from the week that made me smile, or reflect, or just be glad to be alive.

A trip down memory lane…

I went to my old high school on Friday night because this year is its 30th anniversary and there was a whole day and night of festivities. It was so strange walking around, remembering parts of the school and not others. I know some people hate school but I have to say, I LOVED high school. Probably because I am a self-confessed nerd, and also because I started going out with Souljourneyboy in Year 11, but also because it was jut a great school and I had a really good education. We even invited a few of our teachers to our wedding. Trees that I remember planting towered over me and the crappy lockers we all hated are now replaced with very snazzy looking ones. It was a really nice night.

Bookworm

He amused me the other day. I was picking him up early from his classroom when he said breathlessly, “Oh Mum, I just have to quickly tell the teacher something” and dashed off back inside. After several moments he reappeared and we started walking towards the car. “What did you have to tell him?” I asked, thinking it was something to do with homework or a note. “Oh, I just had to tell him that your lungs are actually an involuntary muscle while you sleep,” he replied.

Of course! No reason why that could wait a second longer than it had to 🙂

Picasso

He really is very sweet, my Picasso. I might have shared this before, but he saw a recruitment ad for nurses about a year ago and asked me, “Mum, can boys be nurses?” So since then he has decided that he wants to be a pediatric nurse. The other day we went for a walk – just the two of us – and he told me that he really wants to be the nurses that looks after the sick babies in the NIC unit. I reckon he’ll probably end up doing it too. I’ve never heard of any other 7-year-old boy choosing that as a career path, but that’s just like Picasso. He is a big marshmallow.

Sugar-high

I have decided I really MUST do something about my eating habits! I tried Michelle Bridges last year and lost a few kilos, but lately seem to have been eating like a bear about to hibernate. One of my closest friends and I said we would try and give up sugar, but I was an abject failure. I really just need to give up snacking on junk. So why this morning I decided to bake a delicious passionfruit slice is beyond me.

So there you go! It’s Sunday here and poor Little Miss is lounging on the beanbag with a high temperature and a cold. The boys are playing Monopoly, Souljourneyboy is marking schoolwork and I think I might read a book. Enjoy your day!