Monthly Archives: October 2014

On hot days and nudie runs

Posted in Daily life, Family by

So at the risk of making myself sound like the class clown of Blog land, and of the ‘Raduates Class of October 2014 of Blog With Pip, I’m going to help you guys get to know me a bit more.  Tongue is planted firmly in cheek always, people….. These snippets, however, are true to form and not very embellished at all, I’m sad to say.

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We have a pretty idyllic life, often interrupted by the crazy hound.

Let’s set the scene, here.  We live in the country, and I’m oh so glad that we do.  We have 16 beautiful acres of paddocks, cows and bird life.  I grew up and was educated in Adelaide before making my way with the hubs (about 20 years ago, when he was my hot boyfriend) in pursuit of the country life. We revel in our space and the freedom of neighbours being far enough away that we aren’t hindered or obliged to keep the noise down etc.  Now, there are some days when we still reckon we’re pretty hot, but the day in question wasn’t one of them; not in that sense of the word, anyway.  I was actually red in the face, quite unattractive and sweaty after picking up my little man from Kindergarten one putridly hot November afternoon.  Arriving home at our sanctuary, I flicked on the air conditioner, gave a cursory glance to the laden kitchen bench and the dishes that had been left earlier in the day…..it had been a particularly trying morning; judge me if you will…..and made the very easy decision to have a little sit down on the sofa with the local rag whilst the house cooled down. In a blink I whipped off the pants I had been wearing (who needs them!) and plunged into the comfort of the favourite recliner like a half skinned rabbit, devoid of much covering.

When you live where we do, it’s very rare to get people clamouring at your front door.  Even if somebody does arrive, we have ample warning, for our driveway is a good 400m long dirt road, and you can hear them coming from a mile away….long enough to have a quick stickybeak and attire oneself appropriately.  I had even shut the driveway gate this day, as I didn’t want the ninja pet ducks to go swimming in the adjacent channel, which they treat as their local pool when allowed.  I know you know where I’m heading with this, and it doesn’t end well.

There I was, telly on, pre-schooler happily engaged in ABC Kids after his tiring hot day, and me flicking through the paper, not a care in the world. Until I had the absolute living daylights scared out of me by the sound of the large glass sliding door in our open plan kitchen opening, and a man’s booming voice greeting me cheerily!  Just metres away from me was our neighbour, who agists part of our land.  He has NEVER come to that door before (and never will again, I know!).

The sofa has its back facing the door in question, and it was to an extent my saving grace.

“I’ve got something to show you!”, he said eagerly.

“I’ll bet it’s nothing like what I might be about to have to show you!” was my immediate thought!

I tried to do my level best to seem interested as my mind raced to figure out how to get myself out of this one.  A look of puzzlement descended over his face as I failed to get up off the couch, rather flailing around and attempting to do a casual lean over the top of it.  That failed.  There was nothing for it.

“Um Kevin……I’VE GOT NO PANTS ON!!!”

Well.  That poor man.  I’ve never seen such a double take!  He disappeared out onto our deck, his face hotter than a jalapeno.  I made a run for it, got those pants on and went to see what he had to show me.  (It was, in fact, pretty exciting….a huge dead brown snake which he’d managed to wrap up in a round hay bale in our paddock whilst baling….pre-schooler boy was fascinated).  No matter how I tried to make light of it, poor old Kevin couldn’t see past the embarrassment of it all, so I’ve had to leave it at that.

Just imagine the digs I get now from the family whenever we think Kevin might be at the door.  It’s ok if it’s his dad, Kevin Snr; he has cataracts.

You know what? I still do the same thing to this day.  I just keep some form of coverings at my fingertips!

Am I alone in this?  ‘Fess up, friends!

* I really couldn’t think of any good images to put with this particular post…..so just think about hay bales, ok?

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Go Get ’em, Tiger!

Posted in Family by

Life’s short, huh! A profound statement, I know. As I get older and inevitably gain some of that wisdom everyone’s always rabbiting on about, I’m finally taking those life dreams and slotting a few into place. I’ve got my work cut out for me, people! But you know what? This past year, little by little, I am starting to see some payoffs.

Without question, the biggest and best thing I’ve ever achieved and have complete happiness in is my little family. I can quite honestly say that I’m ever so content. If I never did anything else, then that’d be ok. Except for the niggling voices in my head. The ones that say I could do so much more. Darn those voices! They also whisper to me that I need to keep inspiring my offspring, and demonstrating through my actions that to have a meaningful existence they need to both pursue their passions and to be wonderful, decent human beings with compassion and empathy in spades.

Growing up, I was always encouraged to do my best. Just like kids were in most of the nice surrounding, leafy green suburbs. The times were conservative (God, I’m starting to sound like a fossil!), and the parents of our generation generally had a job for life. It was all about security. So, for the likes of a pretty smart kid like me, careers advice was all about something well paying and respectable. When it was determined that perhaps Veterinary Science wasn’t going to be my forte; I was a wordsmith, not a scientist…then university entry hopes were steered more to the arts/law category. Aspirations towards journalism were frowned upon (too competitive, never safe) and arty farty crafty stuff too (you can do better than that with your brain). Despite great marks, I chose to start with an Arts degree, which then morphed into a nice safe teaching degree. It has served me well over the years….I do have a genuine love of children and have a passion for their wellbeing.

Trouble is, I’ve still been left searching for that perfect fit. The one I think many people never find. That’s not going to be me! After a loooong break in scheduling to raise those aforementioned brilliant offspring, I’m starting to fraternise with people who inspire me. People who have similar interests and ambitions. I’m pushing my slightly introverted self to make new friends. Hopefully they’ll glean something out of me, too! Those all famous and rather clichéd quotes about surrounding oneself with (fill in the blank!) have taken hold of me.

After ruminating upon the shape of all this for far too long, I’ve gone down the “Just Do It” path. Sometimes one just has to jump in and hold one’s breath. Much of this has been about finding the headspace to launch myself into this new blogging world and into some other little ventures. Already I cant believe how a few little doors are opening!

As for those kiddie winks of mine, how lucky are they that their future options are so broad, and that they can more openly pursue whatever will fill their hearts? I’m not saying that it’ll be at all easy…..but it will be accepted. I know, a lot of people don’t necessarily agree about pursuing passion as a career option; that a perfectly nice job which brings home the bacon will suffice. That’s ok! I recognise that circumstances don’t always allow. This is just the slant I wish to take! As long as someone has a passion somewhere, anywhere, that’s great! I’ve an aspiring author and a wannabe illustrator and one who until just recently wanted to be a dog when he grew up. Go for it, kiddos!! And feel free to change your amazing minds time after time.

It’s been so very lovely to watch my enthusiastic support team as they observe their mother teetering on the edge of her ambitions. They are genuinely excited with my progress and have the utmost belief in my success. What more motivation does one need?

Have you grabbed a passion and run with it lately?
Would you like to be a dog in your next career move? Must confess, our hound has it pretty good!

Growing up is hard to do…….specially if you’re me

Posted in Family, Parenting by

IMG_4345Have you ever wondered if you should be more grown up? I do on an almost daily basis. That is, just long enough to then hide behind a doorway and pop out to scare the unsuspecting eleven year old, before snaffling her for a hug. Or to give an award winning rendition of “What Does the Fox Say?” over the breakfast table to my long suffering offspring. They pretend they don’t love it, but I’m oh, so sure they do. How could they not??

I still ring my parents most April Fool’s Days. It might be just to let them know as a courtesy that the road they’re to be travelling that day has experienced a natural phenomenon, whereby thousands of kangaroos have congregated and that the local council has had to divert the traffic…..

Turns out the hubs isn’t much better. He’ll glide past the house windows on his prized John Deere mower, making ridiculous faces for all onlookers to admire. He’ll even occasionally do this whilst standing up and facing backwards. Twas a shame he didn’t see the corner of the house jump out at him on one occasion. Naturally that incident became gold to us and it haunts him to this day.

When the eleven year old concussed herself and ended up in a Bali hospital earlier in the year, we were all momentarily petrified. Within a couple of days, by which time we had been much relieved to find out that her injuries were of a temporary nature, we had all coined a catchphrase which now plagues her. “I was in the pool?” chimes out at her whenever she is the slightest bit forgetful about any small thing.

I ponder what our family code would look like to an outsider, if they were ever a fly on our walls. They might well be…..we have so many of the bloody things where we live; it’s probably a downright invasion, come to think of it. Anyway, what I was grasping at was that my little tribe has such a language that even just a look or slight movement can convey peals of laughter (or an eye roll, depending on the recipient). Its always in the name of harmony and good fun, and most always at home. It’s a therapy and a balm to us all in stressful times. To the outside world, we’re a nice normal family. I think.

So should I grow up? Not today. Nor tomorrow. I don’t think I’m at all capable. For I adore that our family have the ability to laugh together. I adore that we all love being in each others’ company. There’s no one else in the world I’d rather hang out with than with them. And it’s a complete bonus if I can keep on being silly and absurd in the meantime. Heaven help the people who are landed with me in the retirement village, though.

Have you grown up yet?