What of this day…
With our typical Sydney summer’s day of blue sky and cicadas shrilling away in the background, I pause for a moment to reflect on the last few happy but busy family days.
Some vibrant jewel coloured Gerbera flowers in a bouquet given by a little hand. Red and orange and yellow and cream…a luscious mix.
Stunning little smile with pearly teeth when a little boy sees that grandma is there in HIS house in the middle of the night as he stands in a dim hallway having wakened suddenly.
Same little boy desperately fighting sleep with his eyes opened oh so wide as he holds on to the awake moment, then stating so suddenly “sleep please” whence he is gently rolled and tucked into bed.
The quiet of night with all asleep as compared to the busy happenings of family and children.
Quiet absorbed play of a little one with a large plastic container full of water and two cups. Pour from one cup to the other…over a nearby leaf….onto toes….onto grass …into sandpit…Hand in water to make handprint on wood like grandma did….foot into water and footprint all with his own thinking…Drink water ….all this showing that we really don’t need much to keep us happy….think back to when a small thing was really appreciated. What was it?
…for me I think back to sharing a moment with family. Even though it was just brief meeting at Adelaide airport a year or so ago. As I was preparing to fly back home to Sydney from Adelaide airport, having with my girls and their little ones visited my mother. My sister flew in from Perth to visit our mother too. It was a planned overlap for mum to have a longer family time to enjoy. Yet us sisters, my girls and their babies only manage 30 minutes due to flight times and little children. A meet and greet and hug and laugh and kiss and tear up, as we all had to continue on our life’s journeys.
Back to the present…..Older children happily devouring a favourite home made meal pre prepared by mum of lasagne…”we always have seconds of lasagne …”
Large Backpack school bags ready packed for first day back to school. Food and drinks and books and caps. Big black school shoes ready to go, boot/ trunk of car filled with school bags and swimming gear for little one.
Everyone in car, little one likes grandma’s car seat, seat belts on and off we drive in the semi rural countryside…and so starts another school year for everyone here in Sydney….the precious summer holidays are over….more on that another time.
Family life is a busy one, and with a little one and older siblings it covers a whole range of needs.
Many lessons are there for us along life’s journey. To Find Patience, tolerance, kindness, to be a peacemaker, helper, prompter, learner, discoverer, mediator, and learner again.
No matter what age we are, young to old, these apply. In all avenues from work to play.
….So, soon it’s time for grandma to go back to her home…..a little voice says, “Grandma stay at my house? Grandma sleep in my house?….” Precious memories.
Now I’m back to my own life, a different world. Retirement boring? Never
A little catching up and reading…..words….words…
Frugal Fatigue…Blogosphere…Frugal is make your money work for you…and I like this one, thank you Heather…Time is wealth…..
All these are a world away from life of the last few days that I was privileged to share.
Tag words given for the above photo were woman, girl, reading, coffee, shop, leisure, relax, quiet, peace, alone. My addition would be joy in the aloneness to refresh the soul and to garner strength for the next need that arises.
…later I will continue on my little journey started the other day.
Have a good day all.
By Alexa
Photos as stated with thanks from http://www.morguefile.com
Lovely account of a very busy but fun-filled few days, Alexa! Lots of happy memories! xo
Hi Lis. Thanks for following my thoughts and your comment. Indeed was a special time to spend with the children. Looking back maybe over a year I can see how the older ones have matured and in their interaction with each other….and having a much younger sibling has nurtured that. ox
More happy memories for your future and they’ll be triggered by a photo, a word spoken, as that little one grows into the next stage
Thanks Maureen for reading and
your comment. Yes there’s so much happening in life that we miss because we are so busy being busy. We need to “smell the roses” as the saying goes and remind ourselves to actually do it. With little ones the moments are fleeting and if we don’t see or hear something memorable it’s gone and then in a flash they’ve grown up. X
Ah this reminds me of summers here with my little grandson enjoying any simple game involving water as well
Hi Deb. Thanks for taking a peek at my blog and your comment. I love summer, except when its too hot, as there is so much to see and enjoy…ahh the beach. Great fun times to be had as I wrote about in one of my posts. Hope you get some warmer weather soon to swell those spring buds. From the Land Down Under…Alexa