#2217 Holiday learnings

Hubbie went back to work today, baby girl starts back at school tomorrow, and I start back at work later this week.

It’s been a super chill holidays. We did zilch sight-seeing, went to very little new places, with most of our visited list being places that we’ve been before, and also we did absolutely nothing at home.

No jobs. No appointments. No annoying phone calls.

Just doing whatever the hell we wanted. Lots of beaches and eating out sure. A dash of watching tennis.

But just, CHILL.

We all agree it’s been one of our best holidays ever, and we slept in our bed every night too.

When something happens to you like this, like you have the best time ever somewhere, or over a period of time, you can’t help but look back and question, ‘what made it so awesome?’

And when you see what it is, well naturally you want to implement it into your life.

Here is what I learnt:

It’s ok to do nothing. Actually doing nothing is extremely powerful. And you need to do this mindfully, like actually sit there, WITHOUT feeling guilty, saying to yourself ‘yes, I need this! I deserve this.’

Keep things simple. My God this is a huge one for me. How can we make things easy? How can we make it so that we aren’t running around like headless chooks day after day, doing mindless crap to check off our list while the days tick on by?

Simplify. Reduce. Remove the crap. We actually don’t need that much, i.e. material stuff, jobs, responsibility. Take the pressure OFF.

And my last one, which is REALLY controversial… you don’t need holidays. Not in the 2 week type of way, though after having them I can’t deny they are absolutely essential for a yearly reset.

But if your life is balanced, with the right amount of on and off days, you don’t need that much time off. If you fill your days off with people and things you love while doing work you are passionate about on other days, well your life should be pretty damn fine.

Now that all sounds easy in writing, but it’s bloody hard to make happen instantly overnight. It’s a work in progress like all of life, but that’s the ongoing challenge I guess… creating the life you dream of. 💖

#2216 Grateful hero

I realised at the start of this night that either way, I am so happy for him.

When tennis player Rafael Nadal won the semi-final of the Aus Open nights ago, I was happy, but then it hit me a little bit more.

He was happy, sure. Emotional, hell yes. And surprised, most definitely.

He had suffered serious foot injuries that put major question marks over his future tennis career, if it existed anymore at all.

And so, seeing him so happy, so ultimately grateful for this happy turn of events where he was able to recover and play AGAIN, made ME, this emotional Mum, super happy.

And emotional too.

I got seriously choked up, because I got it. I know how difficult it is to come back from injury/illness, and to see him on screen as he was, reminded me of EVERYTHING.

I am still getting there, and seeing him get there, and play again? What an inspiration.

It made me want him to win the final EVEN MORE.

I can’t lie, I would have been rooting for him without that back story. But that back story is everything to me.

Go Nadal. You forever champ. You get it. 💪

And update… I wrote the above during set 5… and he won!

He won for him, for his team, his country, his fans, and I really feel, me too.

Such a deserved victory! Two sets down he scraped on through, and he won.

The genuine good guy, the fighter, won.

I AM SO HAPPY!

#2215 Late night treat

Today we ended up going through Maccas drive-through.

All of us.

Saturday night.

AFTER 11:30pm.

😬

I can’t even remember how we thought of the story. But some friends of ours had left for the night after a visit, and we were sitting around the coffee table watching TV when Hubbie said “tell baby girl about the time we went to Maccas at midnight.”

So I did. It was before she was born, and it was during our Jan-Feb summer holidays. We were sitting around one night mucking about, and all of a sudden at midnight Hubbie had a massive craving for the golden arches.

I was in my pjs and all. So I chucked on a hoodie, we drove through Maccas, grabbed a meal, and proceeded to eat it at home post-midnight, chuckling about it all.

As we talked about it, I realised it might be a fun thing to do again… it was nearing the end of our hols after all, and I knew it would be one of those things she wouldn’t only be excited to do for the novelty of it, but for the fun memory.

So we asked… “do you want to go drive-through?”

A resounding YES!

Maccas is actually a bit too convenient for us, just down the road. We weren’t the only ones with the almost midnight idea, so we waited a while to get our food, but we finally drove away with some good ol’ fries.

And here we are just chilling on the couch, Mister F between us wondering what the hell we’re eating and can he have some too, making memories. 💞💖

#2214 Running in the summer rain

I was going to post about a new restaurant we went to in our area tonight, but then I realised that that outing brought me nowhere near as much happiness as what happened at the end of our grocery trip earlier today.

We had decided to do a quick grocery shop, hoping that we might escape any of the impending storms that were clearly coming, evidenced by the dark clouds overhead and the growling and snapping thunder and lightning occurring around us.

Sure enough, as we exited the centre with a full trolley, there was a fairly consistent stream of rain. Not as light as a drizzle, not a full downpour either, but a steady in-between.

We decided to go it.

Run for it.

Run through the rain.

Hubbie took charge of the trolley and started flying through the open car park, unbelievably fast I might add, with baby girl and I holding hands as we ran behind him.

SLOSH! I was wearing sandals and all of a sudden I took in a whole puddle full of water. I gasped and told baby girl, and she started laughing beside me.

I looked down at her feet with thongs, flip flopping about as she ran next to me. I joked about how Hubbie was careening so fast from side to side, and that made her double over more.

I laughed with her, as rain fell on our faces, our clothes, splashed up our leg, and I took in her delighted face, so so happy with this summer rain. We were trying to get out of it, but actually, we were having the best time.

That look of sheer happiness on her face… 😍 beats any freaking pasta dish I say. 😉

Nothing to show for it, but in my memories for always. 🙏💖

#2213 The other end of the bay

Still on beach posts, but you gotta admit the photos are pretty. 😍

It was an overcast, cloudy and humid day, and yet those conditions still made it practically perfect beach weather. There was a mildly gentle breeze, and without the sun directly blaring down on us, it felt sublime.

I had the idea to walk all the way down to the end of the beach, until the tip of the alcove coastline as it were. So we walked.

• 

• 

And it was different. Beach boxes still adorned the sand, but they grew fewer in quantity, whereas the trees and sloping green landscape rose in abundance. A few small staircases leading down from the grand clifftop houses above appeared out of nowhere, only visible to the immediate eye, and it really did feel like our own private beach.

It was simply lovely to view our local from a different vantage point. An essential life skill I think. 🤔😉

#2212 Special christening day

Today was a special day.

And not because it was a “public holiday.”

No, we christened our deck and deck furniture with cherished family, who we enjoyed the afternoon and night with. 🥰

Ahhh. Still, we are in the holiday vibes. The best place to be. 💖🙏🏖️😍

#2211 Mills Beach Love no. 7

We headed down to our local beach today in the mid-afternoon. Just as we had secured a spot and started setting up our chairs and umbrella, I saw a familiar face heading towards me…

It was a fellow school Mum, baby girl’s friend’s Mum. After the expected surprise greeting – which shouldn’t be a surprise anymore since it is both our local and fave beach and when we take the girls out we ONLY go there – we had the following exchange.

Me: “Any jellyfish out there?”

Her: “No, not today.”

Do you see why I love it so? 😎🤗 Local vibes.

I don’t just love the fact that I’m a local, or that I bumped into a fellow local… it’s just the fact of living where I am.

I am truly comfortable where I am, and even after visiting other beaches both near and far in recent days, this one feels most like home. 💖😍🏖️🩴

#2210 A year in planning

Just over a year ago in early Jan, we were in San Remo. And during our trip there, we happened across an amazing surf beach called Smiths Beach on the way to Phillip Island. We only dipped our toes (and legs!) in at the time, but vowed we would be back days later.

True to our plan, we headed off on day 3. We even bought a boogie board on the way over, and wandered past a really nice cafe… and then minutes later our car overheated, we pulled over, and were suddenly in the midst of a 3 hour wait for car emergency assist in 30 degree heat. 🤦‍♀️

When we got the car somewhat moving, we were close enough to walk to the aforementioned cafe, where the owner there was absolutely amazing enough to drive Hubbie back to our car with water to help cool it down, as well as give us a contact number for a mechanic in town. We were able to get back to the resort, get the mechanic’s help, and a couple of days later head home with a newly fixed car!

But, we never got to swim at Smiths with that island boogie board.

Today… finally! It happened.

We went back to the cafe with a little bottle of something to say thank you again, and had a delicious meal there. The name is The Haven Wave Cafe in Newhaven, and if you are ever passing there, know that you will be in extremely safe, friendly and hospitable hands, with actually really yummy food! We now know that for sure.

Once we had filled our bellies, we headed 10 minutes down the road to Smiths Beach.

It was AMAZING!

I mean, I live near the beach, and I was IN LOVE with this beach. It has great waves, really good for beginners with boogie boards, but also great for those wanting to go a little deeper and catch a wave with their surfboard.

We had the best time, the best day, and as we were all taking turns using the boogie board, getting swept up in the ocean, laughing out loud and screaming like kids, I had an idea.💡

I think we have borne a new tradition.

Drive up to Phillip Island early in the day. Stop at Haven Wave Cafe for a late brunch to fuel up, then go down the road to jump and swim for hours on end at Smiths Beach.

Sounds like a bloody perfect day if you ask me. 😍

#2209 A better tide

As expected, the tide has turned.

I knew that the worst had to be behind us yesterday, and I was 100% correct. The tide turned, and with it we found ourselves at a different beach to our usual one.

We met up with some friends there, and the day was honestly spectacular. To the deeper waters, the expanse of water and sand and people as far as the eye can see, the kids playing, and then the extra catch-up which continued at our place after the beach… it was a really beautiful day.

Having been in lockdown for so long over the past few years, and then getting out and needing to self-isolate so much due to sickness, well you really come to realise how important and valuable good company is. Not just company, but good company. Company where you talk and talk, you keep finding out great things about each other, and the vibes just keep on rolling.

There is happiness, laughter and relatability. Life is good when you discover this, and we have realised recently, more than ever, that we want to have the right people around us, and having fun with them as much as we possibly can.

Grateful to have days like this, where the adults have as much fun as the kids do. 🙏💖

#2208 Better than this

What a weird holiday this is turning out to be.

There is so much moodiness. So much unsettledness. Things are uneasy, uncertain, and oftentimes it’s just crap.

Today represented all of that. After having off days (when we were sick), then on days (when we went out and had heaps of fun), this was most definitely an off day once again.

We did NOTHING. Well except for take baby girl to her first swimming lesson of the year, then after that, NADA.

ZILCH.

ZIP.

I can’t even said I did anything overly productive at home. We were flat, uninspired, and lacking real motivation for anything.

But, I have a thought! A theory really. Mercury is currently in retrograde and affecting communication up until Feb 3, so things are bound to be crappy amongst all of us for a while yet.

It’s important to note, because knowing this if you’re hearing bad news, or someone won’t get back to you, or there is just massive mixed communication, well you can be kinder in your response and subsequent action because the planets are ALL to blame.

It makes me feel better, anyway. 🤷‍♀️

So what am I actually grateful for? Well, tomorrow can’t be any shitter than this. The shit, crappy, annoying day is over, and tomorrow has to be better.

Surely… 🤞🙏