Something to smile about and something not worth the smile

First up I want to say THANK YOU!!

Thank you to each and every one of you who read my little blog posts.  Thank you for taking the time out of your busy days to spend a few minutes here.  This blog is something that I have been wanting to do and mulling over for a few years now but always put it off for a few reasons.

I thought that there would be very little interest in what I had to say and I don't mean that in a fake humble way, I just mean that not every one is like me and has a fascination with the ordinariness of daily life. Even though I find other peoples lives rivetting in their individuality, others may enjoy a more cosmopolitan view of things. 

The other reason is that I was always too busy and or tired.  But that will not change in the near future so best get on with it. 

I wonder too at the value of opening up to the general public a personal insight into my life.

Can it be too much? I do tend to wear my heart on my sleeve (my emotional reactions have always been on my face for all to see) and boundaries are there for the crossing.  Am I leaving a great big vulnerable gap open to inspection that may come back and bite me on the arse. Time will tell, I guess. 

However! Since I commenced to put my thoughts into this online journal, I have had some really encouraging feedback. Better than that, it has facilitated others'  memories of their school days or childhood. So we are both winners out of that.  Long time friends are also reporting to getting to know a side of me that they never knew existed.
Good or bad?? I don't know.

The blog also holds a record of this time; all the joy, the hard grit and what was going on during this huge time of transition for my family.

I started back in October thinking that if only the family reads it, at least they will have an idea of what we are doing. Then I started to digress - hard to comprehend, I know! Me losing track, no way.  Anyway after just 36 posts, yesterday turned out to be momentous occasion.

2000 page views in just under 2 months!!!

WOW! I am so happy; who woulda thought it.  So thank you all. I hope that I continue to write about stuff that you find entertaining and/or relevant. 

 Now for the bad news and disappointment:

As you know I have been looking forward to my husband coming home from Karratha for Christmas.  Well yesterday was to be the big day.  It is a 12 hour turn around from Karrratha to Launceston. It literally takes ALL day to get here.  You could fly into Hong Kong quicker.

So Chris arrives into Melbourne tired and achey (he has a bad back at the mo) to be told that his 7 p.m. flight with QANTAS has been canned because they didn't allow for a flight crew on that particular Qantas Link flight. He had to go over the aerobridge and stay the night at the Park Royal.

I was already tired enough to weep after a really busy day and then to get that on top of it all, I just went to my bed.

The upshot, and there is always one, isn't there? - was that he got to sleep in one of the most comfortable beds that we have ever had the pleasure to lay our weary bones on.  The beds at the Park Royal at Tullermarine are the bomb, divine! So lucky Chris with his bad back, at least he had a good nights sleep.

Today it is a gorgeous sunny, light breeze, blue skies kind of day ~ perfect for flying down the river. So with a fair breeze and a good handful of grace and hope, we will pick him up this afternoon some time, if Qantas can be bothered, I suppose :)

In other good news, Daughter D and SIL to be made their way safely to Coober Pedy last night, so they are getting closer each day.  It is an awful long way from Jarlmadangah in the far northern Kimberley to Launceston, Tasmania. They have sent home some amazing photos, thanks to Viber and Facebook - but that is their story to tell.  I am just thrilled that they are on their way. That first smooch is going to be a beauty!

I hope that all your Christmas plans are falling in line with your level of enthusiasm and time frame and that you are not too frantic in the Pre-Christmas rush.

Cutting off the Knots

You know I was reading a book the other day when I was struck by  a phrase that just sang to me off the page. I would like to share that with you as sometimes we need a nudge to do something that we have wanted to do for quite some time.

Speaking of time, and we are now, as a small digressive move :) , it is only three weeks till the house will be full to the brim again. Chris will be home in three weeks; Emily and Farooq will be home two days before him; then Danika and Shaun arrive closer to C. Day!  There will not be a more excited household in Launceston than right here on this street at No. 20!

Some of the beautiful people heading my way soon 

The fly in the ointment though is the huge amount of work that I need to complete before then. Those blasted lists are back with a vengeance. There is always a fly, isn't there.

I had Dad and two sisters here when I got back from Karratha on Thursday, which was lovely. I was talking to Dad about the move and everything and I said to him that even though I am going to be exhausted, tired and worn out by the time Christmas rocks around, I am happy.  I am happy that I can do all these jobs that I need to do. I am happy that I have been able to finish "work" sooner than I thought, to enable me the luxury of only having 1 full time job to do instead of two. I am happy that all this planning is going to lead to us having a great new adventure.

This is a good place to insert the Happy Face 

Anyway back to that book; There have often been times in my life when I really needed to let something go. For my own health; my own sanity; for the end to relentless ruminations in my head at night when I should be sleeping.

I'm not good at letting things go.  Chris will back me up here as he has been on the rough end of the pineapple at times with this particular fault of mine.  Pig headed determination can be a good thing at times but ....anyway you get the picture.

People let you down, you can be certain of that.  The choice that we have about that is to let it go and get over it, or doctor it along like a festering pimple.  The more you poke at it, the redder and more irritated it becomes; A sore tooth that you just cannot leave alone. 

When people let me down, I tend to think that it is my fault - that I must have done something to cause that.  Instead of just thinking, "well that's human nature for you - people can be shits".  A hurt person hurts; a happy person is too busy being happy to want to out and out hurt someone else.

I would like to think that as I get older I get wiser.  At times I get that down pat.  Other times not so much.  But I am learning. I am learning to let it go, to not keep poking that sore tooth with my tongue until both are so sore that I cant think or talk of anything else.

The thing that I would like to share is this - Sometimes you just need to cut the knot off instead of trying to unravel the mess. 

Sounds really simple doesn't it?  I'm going to leave that with you cos I need to think a bit more about it too.

Hope that everyone is having a lovely sunny Saturday. Thank you to the lovely people who are leaving positive encouraging comments, I love those.  Remember you can leave a comment, you may need to set yourself up a Google profile but that's easy :)

Next post I will put up some photos of the new house in Karratha.

Bend Or Break

Inspiration sometimes comes in the weirdest forms.  A movie, a book, a passing phase or indeed a passig phrase.  For me inspiration usually comes from my family and friends. The people I love and respect inspire and encourage me to try new things or just give me the push to do the things that I need to that might be hard.

My parents are a great source of inspiration.  I love to listen to Dad tell me stories about the stuff he used to do as a young man and a kid growing up in the depression of the late 1920s early 30s. That was when life really was tough, not just "oh God the internet has crashed again" tough.

Dad tells me the story of his younger brother, Jim, who didn't have a pair of shoes until he was 8. Dad said he had feet as "hard as the hobs of hell".  I asked Dad once if he knew how hard the hobs of hell were and he said that yes, he did cos he had been there.

 No doubt living through a world war, a depression the likes of which one of our recessions seems like a garden party and bringing up a family of 6 children, one does see the tough side of life and the struggles that can be associated with keeping your family fed and together. I think Dad is well accustomed to bending. He must be because in all my life, I have never seen him break.

It's only when I look back on my younger days that I realise, we are all tougher than we think.  We have all had times that we have had to bend or break.

The last time that I made a really big move like this, I was only 21 and had a 10 month old baby boy.  My husband, Keith (the children's father) and I packed up our little maroon Sigma and drove to Canberra right before summer to make a new life for ourselves.  Goodness, we are doing it again insummer, what's wrong with us -LOL!!

Anyway we did it.  With hard work we succeeded;  we built our own home there and had two more babies while we lived in the
Nations capital.  We had a good life and  stayed for nearly 7 years.  It was family that brought us back to Tassie. No doubt the same drawcard will make us return this time.  Probably sooner than 7 years but that is the unknown at this stage.

The first few months in Canberra were hideously hot, no air conditioning then.  I used to fill a big round plastic tub with cold water and sit baby Jonathan in the dish on the front verandah and we would go to the pool a lot too.

I went back to school to get my matriculation so I could persue nursing (that's another story) and a couple of days it was so hot, they sent all the students home. I think once it gets above 40 they used to close the schools.

So in that time, we became quite accustomed  to learning how to do things differently. I looked forward to getting  a letter from Mum every week and only occassionally  a phone call, it cost too much back then to make STD calls very often.




Mum had always been a bender. She had made her life doing things that people might have said she couldn't.  I know she certainly used to rock my Papa's boat by being a headstrong young woman and that determination allowed her the strength to do remarkable things.  Well they are remarkable in my mind.

 Mum was a Land Army Girl during the second World War and worked on farms in northern Tasmania.  Ploughing paddocks, putting in crops, looking after hens and walking from Sasafrass into Devonport on her days off. Dad and Mum married in December 1945 and through hard work they had a good life together and made one for us kids as well.

 Mum went back to work when I was 2. She worked as a nurses aide in an "old folks home". Most of my young life she worked night shift while being very active in charity work for disabled children. Mum was a fabulous cook, always making cakes and meals for other people, not just the family; she was a sewer, a knitter - making lots of our clothes when we were little. She may not have been the best of housekeepers, our place was clean, not spotless. But I would rather have had a trip to the beach when she got home from work than a dust free zone!  She was a contestant in Woman Of the Year and maintained beautiful friendships with three equally inspiring women.  I
will write a post one day about Shirley, Faye and Lorraine. They deserve a post of their own :)

I could write all day about my parents and how wonderful I think they are.  How their hard work, love for their family and their dedication to making the best of things, enriched all our lives. I like to think that their example made us all hard workers too; people who know the value of having a loving supporting family.  Their life was an example and an inspiration to us regarding the true meaning of what a
successful life is. More importantly how to know when you have achieved that.

For myself, I already believe that I have acheived that.  Please God don't let it happen yet, but if my life was over today, I have succeeded.  I have a given three fantastic children to this world and they have served it well already. I am proud of the young man and women that I have left here as a legacy. They are smart, kind, caring and mindful young people. They are loved and are loving in return. They are a joy to those around them. They think about people other than themselves.

I have worked hard in my  jobs and tried to make the people I come into contact with feel at ease and welcomed.  I may not have always been successful  at that , but I have tried. I have cherished my husband and been a partner to him in all things. I have no real regrets. Well only a few tiny ones, again another story.

For this reason alone, we have nothing to lose by marching into this next phase of our lives, nothing at all, not even time. Time will be spent where ever we are, it will not stop for us or anyone else,  so we may as well do it anyway.

It will be hard, it will be lonely at times, we are going to miss our family and friends.  We have their love and their support though and that means a lot.

 We will bend and not break because that is our way. That is they way we have been brought up to do things. That is the inspiration that I want to be.

More Good News

Oh Wow  - I cant believe that already my little blog has had over 500 page views. Thanks everyone who has clicked in and had a gander.  Leave me  a comment or two; we could get a little chat thing happening. 

In other news today.....Through one of my former bosses, I have made contact with a potential job offer in Karratha - and I'm not even there yet!! Wowsers. I will tell you more about that when I get back home but thank you John, thank you very much. 

I don't know why but I am dog tired tonight so this will be a quickie.  When I was talking to Chris over the past few days, we have been discussing the trip north (west) in January and have now decided to drive as far as Adelaide and catch up with some dear friends on the way.  Then we plan to fly to Karratha with Dizzy dog and put my car on transport. This means that we can spend more time at home  with the kids too :)

It  really is too far to drive in a minimum time slot, with big days, intense heat, and a dog panting in your ear for 4500 kms! I don't think so and on top of that, Patsy was right, my back would not be a functioning thing by the time we hit WA. So now we need to get quotes for the car, book the boat and flights from Adelaide. Add those to "The List".  It is great though having made the decision, at least now I know which way to proceed so that is a big relief.

This week seems to have flown by and  I now only have four days left at work - mixed emotions about that.

Another Appointment Done

Last night I had an appointment with my superannuation company.  I had quite a few Questions about how being on long service leave and then Leave Without Pay will effect my superannuation.  My main concern is that being on leave will negate my life insurance policy which  is attached to my super plan. 
 When I first got there,  I was met by a nice chap and asked to take a seat.  I was about four minutes late and apologized for that but then the person who was going to be my consultant,  was late but he never apologized.  Bad form, that kinda put me on edge and got my back up a bit. 
 Anyway, I settled in and asked him all the questions that were on my list.  Apparently I can make contributions back to RBF no matter where or who I work for.  I want To keep putting contributions in myself to keep the policy growing because my super is the greater of the two of ours.  Plus as I am A fair bit younger than Chris, so I will need to work for quite a few more years than Chris.
The other main question I had was the projection that my super looks like being worth by the time that I would like to retire at.  The consultant advised me to work in some capacity until I reach 60 years of age, that way the tax will not be quite as much and that will be a good thing.
 I need to make sure that my planning is as well thought out as possible to take advantage of our financial circumstances over the next few years ago.   But a lot of that will be a guessing game.