Generally a great weekend, with only this persistent cough, and non-specific uptightedness during Saturday that I realised mostly came from discussing our christmas travel plans with my mother, to spoil a nice low-key normal family weekend. Like managing to pull out one or two ear wax flavoured sweets out of an otherwise yummy flavoured pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Left me with that 'errgh' taste in my mouth until I got some more of the sweet tutti-frutti candy flavoured ones! Metaphorically speaking of course. In reality it was me sort of grumping around with clenched teeth for a few hours wondering why I was feeling all sort of shitty. In amongst a few precious 'Wouldn't be dead for quids!' moments.

Marc and I got up early and went into the community ride. I did very well waking up early - no moanings or grumblings at all.. though he thinks I could do better by actually getting out of bed before him. We were in bed before 10.30... surprising how much easier it is to get up if you've had a reasonable amount of sleep. (And then in the afternoon I went up and had a nap! Me.. a daytime nap?! Unheard of... Who said a leopard can't change its spots?)

Home by 9.30.. phone call from my mother. "Are you up yet? Because I thought too bad if you're not because I wanted to go shopping."
"Yes, we were up at 5.00, and we've been into town on a 30 km bike ride."
"What?"
(I repeat myself.)
"130km?"
"Um, no Mum... it's only 9.30!.. we only did 30km in that time! .
(So much for acknowledging the achievement of having done what we did.)

Then:
"Ah, so got your email about coming here on your way home from the Blue Mountains."
"Yes." (I sent it after we made the Decision that Had to be Made)
"So, we'll have a family get together New Years Eve"
"Yes, ok."
"So did you want to stay more than one night?"
"Ah.. no... we want to get home". (To the beach... seriously what's there to do in the hot, humid northwest suburbs of Sydney apart from sitting around feeling hot?)
"Oh. Ok"
(Why is it anything I decide to do always seems to come up short... )

And then it was discussions about christmas present ideas for the kids, of which I have none. But it's not really acceptable to think that. Somehow.

I suppose anyone reading that will wonder what is wrong with me. It's the tone that gets to me more than anything. And the bottom line is that I'm a terrible nark who doesn't get all warm fuzzies from the compulsory family get-togethers... and is getting more and more tense about her mother as time goes on. It's decreed. It's in the genes. I'm not sure how to shake it off.

Marc was a busy boy all weekend.. and managed to install the cargo barrier in the Landcruiser.. Every now and then I had to be his 'gofer'... but he's the one with the 'high level of technical proficiency' recommended on the instructions.. Another Daddy job well done.

And we went down to the beach for a late swim both afternoons... Highlight of the weekend really.. body surfing with Dad... followed up by a BBQ. Saturday night, after we enjoyed lamb steaks for dinner, he exclaimed "It doesn't get much better than this!" The girls thought it could if we'd done the beach in the morning as well, but we told them the Mummy and Daddy time, riding our tandem, without them, in the morning was quite perfect! Hah.

But the surf was great. OK, not the best waves ever, but catchable. After so many years not being able to go in the water at the same time as him (because of baby/child supervision issues), it's great being able to get out there, and, with some tips and encouragement from him, get better and better at catching waves. Zoe is right by herself in the shallows (too much of a wuss to come out). Cait is out the back with us, and Alison comes out if they take a boogie board, and/or there isn't any seaweed. I had hoped that a couple of goes at the ultimate 'saltwater gargle' might improve my cough. Jury is still out on that.. I felt great on Saturday night, but it's still hanging around.

Afternoons like that, though, make me appreciate where we live. How lucky we are to be able to just wander down to the beach, and to enjoy a surf with hardly another soul around. And possibly because he is away so much these days, I really treasure the times we spend together - just him, me and the girls. Both those afternoons, standing there drying off in the late afternoon sun, I felt that all was right with the world.. well.. my little world anyway. Pity you can't bottle that sort of thing up and give it away as a Christmas pressie. Pity you need to wrench yourself away from all that, and refocus on the angst of some thing to buy my kids and my nephews for Christmas.

I didn't actually achieve much else, apart from vaguely supervising Alison's packing for school camp (ironing name tags on her clothes at nearly midnight and discovering smuggled lollies in her toiletry bag!) Did manage to stay away from the blogging, which is probably a good thing, considering how long I've been fiddling around here this morning.

Yesterday we also managed to take the photo for our annual Christmas card. Which I get prints of for the 'luddites' (and friends who I know really like to have a real card.)

But I also put it on a web page... to save the trees.

Sneak preview?



See. I do work up to a bit of Christmas Spirit. TM. Tracey style.

Labels: Christmas, daily, introspection