Every day that I get to spend celebrating the wonderful men in my life –
My hubbie
My dad
My bro-in-law
-Is a wonderful day, which makes today’s Father’s Day even more so.
And this year, we have a new man in our family, our little man. 🙏❤
How lucky is he to be surrounded by such wonderful men, and how lucky am I to have them all in my life.
Grateful. 🥰🥰
These things have ALL crossed my mind today.
‘Motherhood is a thankless job.’
‘Don’t do it for the thanks.’
‘You will always be hungry… last… tired.’
‘I am so blessed.’
‘Look at me now. Just look.’
‘I’m so tired.’
‘They make me so happy.’
‘I’d love a couple of minutes just to get shit done.’
‘Ahh. This is nice.’
‘A card, and some art, is no where near what we deserve.’
‘That’s so cute.’
‘I wonder who else is feeling like me today?’
‘Remember where you were last year…’
And then the clincher…
In a sad moment I was doing a lot of reflecting. I’m feeling especially blessed since this year it’s my first Mother’s Day as a mum of two, and that makes me very happy, relieved even… but I’ve been a bit flat as well, maybe the consequence of not much sleep over the last couple of days, plus a huge day yesterday.
I remembered a Mother’s Day, when I was about baby girl’s age… 9 or so? All the commercial prompts had worked their magic on me as a kid, and so I had set about going to make my mum breakfast in bed.
Only I wasn’t so skilled yet in the kitchen. I’m not sure whether I fixed her a hot drink, but the meal component comprised of corn flakes… with cold milk.
I quietly got up and got it done, taking it into my parents room. I had totally surprised both of them – not even my dad had known of my plans. When my mum, pleasantly surprised at my attempt, had realised the cereal had cold milk… she laughed, and so did my dad, stirring her up a bit.
Serving cold cereal to them, is like serving up cold soup. My mum always warmed up milk for breakfast on the stove – for me, my dad, my sister, herself.
As they chuckled over the cold milk, my mum saw my face change, get a bit hurt, and then she kindly explained how she always warmed up the milk, while reassuring me all was OK.
I can’t remember if she ate any, or tried to save it by putting it on the stove.
But I was thinking of that today, my thoughts that that incident was the epitome of motherhood.
People meaning best, but the mums always getting the cold cereal.
But just as my thoughts fell bitter, so too did they recoup…
My Mum hadn’t been upset with me. She had found my attempts to spoil her humorous, amusing, and I dare say, even a little touched perhaps.
If baby girl did that for me, cold cereal and all, I don’t think I’d ever forget it. For the best reasons.
And so, yes that is motherhood. Yes you do come last, often. You are also tired often, hungry often, and you don’t get many thanks.
But we get on with it. We are mentally strong, so resilient. We find humour in little things, and we take pleasure in our loved ones trying so hard to pay tribute to the hardest, most physically, emotionally and mentally demanding job on earth.
But also, the most rewarding.
Because for all of the difficulty, there’s no other role I’d rather have. 🙏
I am grateful and blessed. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mums out there. A very special shout out as well to:
Those with Mums in heaven
Those Mums grieving
Those ‘almost’ Mums, trying so hard
Those Mums, trying so hard – I see you (I was you)
Those step Mums
Those Mums playing a maternal role to someone special
Those single Mums
Those fur baby Mums
I see you all. 🙏❤
My Stric passed away overnight.
Stric means ‘uncle’ in Croatian, but it is the name attributed to your Dad’s brother.
My Dad had other brothers, which means I had other Strics… none of which I ever met.
This was the Stric that had been around since the day I was born. He and his wife and son, and extended family, were all living in Australia for all the time I have been on this earth.
He was a strong man. When I say strong, I mean internally, a quiet, determined strength. A man of few words, but what he said spoke volumes.
You wanted to listen when he started to speak.
Always with the most genuine of smiles when he greeted you.
Someone who seemed to know a lot about many subjects, self-educated, smart, sensible.
I loved to watch him and my Dad together. There aren’t many relations on my Dad’s side of the family, and so I found them interesting to watch together. I could see how they were so much cut from the same cloth. Men both proud of their families, their gardens, their handy gadgets.
And although other things, hobbies and subjects they differed on widely, there was this oneness between them, this strong familiarity that told you they were brothers, more than their blood did.
It is the weirdest and the strangest thing to lose somebody who has been around your whole life. I still don’t understand this life and death thing. How someone can pass and the world can keep moving.
Hug your loved ones closer tonight. 💖
Rest in Peace my Stric. In our hearts forever.🙏
R.I.P SK.
It was lovely to spend some time today with my Dad’s side of the family.
Life is busy, and honestly, we see people most when they call us to something… and vice versa, when we call them to something.
You know how it goes… the weekend comes, you want to relax, but you also want to do some odd jobs, and housework, and groceries. And unless someone has said “hey, come to my house,” or “you’re invited to -” it’s usually quite hard trying to match your schedule to someone else’s. It takes repeated effort, and it’s often weeks and weeks, if you’re lucky, before you actually get to see each other.
I’m fortunate that both sides of the family tend to do stuff for catch-ups, and so even though there is sometimes months between, it is never YEARS. I mean, if you’re not gonna catch up for a special day like a birthday, when the hell are you gonna catch up?
And that was the case today with my aunty’s birthday. She called us out for lunch, and so we went, ate, took photos, and had a pleasant day.
And I captured this flower in her front yard, and it was not only gorgeous, but smelt amazing too.
It really made me think… relationships are much like roses. Sure, roses are hardy, and will spring up (pardon the pun) every year. But they may become overrun with pests, or have dark spots all over their leaves, petals sagging, looking very sad looking.
But when you give them real attention, like watering them consistently, applying healthy soil, and providing nutrient food, only then will you see them start to bloom.
The same goes for the relationships in our lives.
Pay attention to them, give them time… and watch them grow. 💖🌹
Appreciate the days.
Appreciate ALL the days.
Appreciate the days you wake up in the morning, the days you are healthy, the days that you have warmth to protect you from the cold, the days you have someone to hug you and tell you it’s going to be alright.
But most importantly, appreciate the days you spend with your loved ones, for they are the moments that fulfil you, enrich you, and make up the most important moments of your life.
And so if you had a special person to celebrate this Father’s Day, you are even richer in love. 🙏
Hope your day was filled with love and blessings and happiness, whether you were celebrating a father figure, a partner, a son or a brother. 🥰
Anyone who’s a Dad.
I have come to appreciate and be grateful for these special days more and more, the older I get, the more I realise how these times are fleeting. I take hold of the moment and breathe in, no matter how real or raw it sometimes gets.
Appreciate what you have now. The present is ALL we have.
Let that sink in.
Celebrating love.
Sharing our happiness.
Listening to old school tales, revelling in the wonder.
Playing one last song, then one last song… five songs later, and still, one last song.
Having one last drink, then one last drink… five drinks later, and still one more drink. 😆
Eat the cake. All the cake.
3 drinks at once. Because 1 at a time just won’t cut it.
Love these nights. They are truly the best 🙏💖
I was working at my desk from home this morning, when baby girl ran into the room about 9:30, sleepy-eyed but satisfied, jumping onto my lap.
It’s a little thing she does when she is home and I’m working, and this has been a regular occurrence since she’s on school holidays.
She takes the day as she pleases. A bit of ipad here, some DVDs there, a spot of writing, arty stuff, and coming up to me a few times too to sit on my lap again and take one of my earbuds to see what I am listening to.
She is lucky. I remember back to my own childhood. My dad worked night shift, so it didn’t feel like I missed any time with him… he was working while I was asleep. Having said that, the mornings were spent in absolute silence, as he usually slept upon coming home, and I had to entertain myself during school holidays by working out my exciting plan of attack on home entertainment based off of the TV guide. 😆
Mum however did work during the day, and she was away all week. Sometimes she even worked Saturdays. I just remember this one time, being really small, but also really sad that it was Saturday and she wasn’t home.
These are the sacrifices we make. These are the sacrifices our parents made. These things still happen, day in and day out, but for some people like me, going through covid and home-learning/working has made a hell of a difference.
I looked at baby girl today, moving from room to room at whim, patting the cat, touching some keys on the piano, and then asking me for her second breakfast… 🤦♀️😆
She doesn’t need to go to childcare when I’m home like this. Nor does she need to be dropped off at family or friends houses. She doesn’t have to go into before or after school care when she is back at school, because she has the luxury of lounging around at home, in her comfort zone.
She is lucky, because I am lucky, and get to work from home.
She doesn’t get to miss me, and for that I am grateful. 🙏
Baby girl wanted tiny teddies today, but at my mum and dad’s place there were none.
Mum kept saying “I’ll go and buy them” and I was like “no no no, she isn’t even hungry (she just wants the sugar!)”
After stepping out to have a chat to my sister next door (😉) I walked back into my parents place to baby girl’s excited face.
“Baka’s making pancakes!”
And there was mum in the kitchen, stirring up some batter…
Of course she was making pancakes! 🤦♀️🤣
We therefore indulged in some delicious goodness this afternoon, and I mean, nothing hits the spot quite as much as a childhood treat and staple such as this.
It’s all in the palacinka. 💖💖 Thanks Mum. 😘😘😘
For tonight’s gratitude post, I’m re-posting a Christmas poem I wrote many years ago.
I’ve actually been meaning to re-share it, as I do each year come Christmas time, but tonight in failing to think of anything novel to write about, I thought, why not?
It’s something I really do love, and I really am quite proud of. It’s my Aussie Christmas poem, and as much as it encapsulates a very specific and dear part of my life, I wonder if I need to do an Aussie Christmas second edition, or part 2, etc etc… because there are so many ways to celebrate this most festive time of year, and so many things that can make the day as special as it is.
So, here it is…
“What (Aussie) Christmas means to me, my love”
Sunny days and leafy trees
sprawled out in the yard on lounge chairs
squeals of laughter from the park children
the squeak of Mum and Dad’s backyard swing.
Prawn platters, Fruit pavlova
three courses and constant food in between
Ham is not the star – everything is
and it all goes down well with a glass (or few) of champers.
Flowy dresses and bows in tresses
the kids run barefoot on the grass
we can show some leg and we don’t care
Summer, holidays, carefree, go together.
Annoying things too, like crawling ants and invading-space flies
tightly-wound presents with ribbon, all screwed up
but this is the miniscule list I hold
for this oh-so-Merry day.
Balmy nights, revved up cars
light until past 9pm
cannot sleep, but not just for Santa
for waiting ain’t easy when it’s pushing 20 at midnight.
Eating drinking memory making
What do you talk about with those you love?
Why everything! And now let’s make some plans
about how we’ll take on the world together.
Hot sand replaces stinging ice
sunnies sit meandering instead of wrapped-around scarves
we still rug up on Christmas Eve
to our loved ones for warmth, but not heat.
Carols may sing of snow,
Santa may be in his jolly suit,
cards will show reindeer, eggnog, fireplaces
and the pine trees are not native at this time of year.
But those are idealistic visions
of a Faraway Place
a dream where one day I will be, and see, and touch
and live in reality.
My memories here are of sun, of outdoor fun,
sitting outside and making memories with loved ones
My Aussie Christmas
is the one I love the most.
(Originally posted here) 💖🎄
It was about 5pm today when I realised I felt… different.
This was a novel way for me to feel on a Sunday afternoon.
I felt happy. Content and even a bit excited about the week ahead.
WHY?
I am always dealing with massive Monday-itis feelings come Sunday afternoon, yes even in lockdown. It’s the start of more routine, more work, more home-schooling, and after having spent the day with Hubbie and baby girl, it just really makes me sad that we won’t all be together the next day.
So why was I happy?
Well, I think it was a bit of everything.
Father’s Day, of course. Showering Hubbie with cards and surprise gifts this morning.
Having video calls with family, which really put a smile on my dial. Seeing my Dad and Mum, and sis and bro-in-law made me feel happy and connected to them despite the distance between us in lockdown.
Then I made this new soup recipe, a chicken, vegetable and pasta soup, and it was really yum! So I was stewing over that (almost literally) ’til lunchtime.
And then I wrote up a new weekly timetable for myself, because I often find myself so busy but really scattered, because I don’t know what to do first when I have free time, and end up fluffing around. This way, knowing what day I will focus on what will give me tremendous drive and clarity as to what to do, when. It already worked, today was my clear clutter day, and I was totally killing it. 🤣
So yeah. I am happy, and I don’t have any massive reason why, they’re all little reasons…
(All together now…)
But the little things, ARE the big things. 💖😍🥰💖
carcrashgratitude 