Monday of this week commenced in identical fashion to Saturday’s conclusion: Marking. I can categorically, conclusively conclude that I do NOT like marking! I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday seated in my office reviewing 900 exercises that had been written by PSYC101 students. My range of thoughts about the students varied dramatically throughout the process. Those who understood their work and communicated it effectively were a pleasure to mark. Those who chose not to answer the questions were equally, if not more, pleasurable to mark as their papers only required a big red zero.
Some students, with varying levels of effort and diligence, attempted the questions – poorly. These were the tough ones. I found myself thinking, “How did these people ever get into university?” and “Did they listen to a word I taught them?” or any number of even meaner thoughts. Most of the material was quite simple… or so I had thought when I taught it to them.
After five days of marking papers between 7 and 8 hours a day (I’d rather do removals… oh, perhaps not. I shouldn’t complain to loud!) I finally finished late Wednesday afternoon. What joy! What relief!
Things were generally quiet on Thursday. I made some progress on my planning for my research, and that was really all.
Friday I took the day off. Kylie and I sent the children off to school and then worked like crazy for the next few hours, tidying the house and packing bags. We picked up the children at around 1.30pm and headed south. Some good friends of ours own a property at Gerringong and invited us to spend some time there on the weekend. The 45 minute trip went very quickly, and we arrived to a beautiful home about 100 metres from the beach, and with acres of land behind it.
Some students, with varying levels of effort and diligence, attempted the questions – poorly. These were the tough ones. I found myself thinking, “How did these people ever get into university?” and “Did they listen to a word I taught them?” or any number of even meaner thoughts. Most of the material was quite simple… or so I had thought when I taught it to them.
After five days of marking papers between 7 and 8 hours a day (I’d rather do removals… oh, perhaps not. I shouldn’t complain to loud!) I finally finished late Wednesday afternoon. What joy! What relief!
Things were generally quiet on Thursday. I made some progress on my planning for my research, and that was really all.
Friday I took the day off. Kylie and I sent the children off to school and then worked like crazy for the next few hours, tidying the house and packing bags. We picked up the children at around 1.30pm and headed south. Some good friends of ours own a property at Gerringong and invited us to spend some time there on the weekend. The 45 minute trip went very quickly, and we arrived to a beautiful home about 100 metres from the beach, and with acres of land behind it.
The bulk of Friday afternoon was spent riding their four wheeler motorbikes around the property. Chanel, Abbie and Ella were in heaven! They wouldn’t get off! However, despite the thrill they had, whipping around on the back of the four wheelers, their enthusiasm barely rates a mention compared with the wild glee that overcame Kylie as she hurtled across the grass whooping and “yeeha”-ing like a teenager allowed of her grounding in time to go to a party. Kylie was more excited that I’ve seen in ages, and the grin on her face was so large it was all I could see! I got a little concerned as I watched her speed down the hill. She was riding like someone with 10 years of experience rather than 10 minutes! We chased cows, rode the bikes (I got on the trail bike and took Kylie for a double too) and generally enjoyed the fresh country air. Serenity. Smiles. Super.
+with+me+on+the+bike,+Gerringong+June+2008.jpg)
Kylie and I cooked the ten of us (they also have two children) a wonderful stir-fry for dinner. Then we tackled that task of telling ten tikes it was time to retire for the night. It took over an hour before they finally fell asleep, well beyond their bed-time. Pretty standard if I recall correctly from when I was a child. I’m pretty sure that when I was a kid I’d stay up all night when I had friends sleep over.
Once the children were finally “out” we played some board games, indulged in far too many sweets, and then climbed into the spa. I say spa, but it was really something more the size of a small pool. My body doesn’t appreciate hot places for some reason, and after an hour of so I was very uncomfortable. However Kylie and Deb stayed in until close to midnight. Too late for me. I stayed up, talking with Trevor until then, before collapsing into the bed, completely overcome with exhaustion. I love that feeling of being utterly tired, and lying in bed feeling gentle waves of relaxation make their way throughout my body. I couldn’t enjoy it for long though. I fell asleep too fast!
We arose far too early Saturday, thanks to the children of course. They were so excited to be “doing” again. After cereal, bacon and eggs, and juice, Trevor and I took the children for a walk for a couple of hours. They chased cows some more, then ran down to the boat ramp to pick up rocks and explore. Meantime Kylie and Deb wandered into town (500m in the other direction) to do a spot of window shopping. We drove 20 minutes south, to Berry, just north of Nowra, and played in the park there. Kylie and I fell in love with the place. So quiet, and romantic. In the park we saw a motorcycle gathering or rally of some sort. It included bikes from as early as 1906! It looked more like a basic bicycle with a motor on it. I wished I was a bike enthusiast because I could have really appreciated the history I witnessed.+with+Annie+Grace+(9+months)+Gerringong+June+2008.jpg)
We completed our trip at Bombaderry where we ate far too much at a Chinese buffet-style lunch, before driving back to Wollongong, drowsy, drained, and over-indulged! It was obviously a very quiet night. We had an unexpected visitor at aroun 8.30pm. An older gentleman and his wife (from church) had decided to surprise us with a bag full of goodies (Tim Tams, Mint Slice, Maison, Corn Chips etc) for reasons we still don't understand. We are still shaking our heads wondering why, but grateful for the seemingly endless kindnesses and generosity we are shown here in Wollongong.
Once again we find ourselves being blessed more than we deserve, and finding friends who generously make our lives more exciting than we could ever do ourselves. We are grateful. To make things even better, we’ve had a week of rain and cold weather yet our break on Friday and Saturday, though, were beautiful. Oceans of blue above us, gorgeous sunlight, and warm days; heaven on earth.
I’ve been forced to contemplate the purchase of some wet-weather gear for the motorcycle. A few too many showers have caught me in the past week. I’ve been utterly drenched! We’ve also had some funny things happen with the children. Here are a couple of quotable quotes…
“Hey Dad, look at my Scottish Tartlett skirt.” Chanel trying to describe her tartan skirt.
“You MIGHT be right, but I don’t know my times tables.” Abbie responding to Chanel’s answer of 42. Abbie had asked what 6x7 equals, but then realised that no matter what Chanel said, she didn’t know the answer herself. I assured Abbie that Chanel got the answer correct.
Lastly, and perhaps most exciting of all, we’re watching our children grow and develop beautifully. This week Annie has begun clapping consistently. She has also started saying “dadad.” Of course, it’s just sounds for her at this point. But I love hearing her call me anyway! She has really begun crawling, and she’s doing it quite well. In the next week I’m anticipating that she’ll be able to move from one room to the next. And finally, after 9 months, we have our first tooth! It’s through! And as usual, Annie lights up all of our days with her endless smiling and laughing. She has the most wonderful temperament. Our Chanel is also showing signs of growing up too, although I’m not as enthusiastic about this development. I’m not sure that Kylie and I are ready for a little girl who’s not so little anymore.
+with+me+on+the+bike,+Gerringong+June+2008.jpg)
Kylie and I cooked the ten of us (they also have two children) a wonderful stir-fry for dinner. Then we tackled that task of telling ten tikes it was time to retire for the night. It took over an hour before they finally fell asleep, well beyond their bed-time. Pretty standard if I recall correctly from when I was a child. I’m pretty sure that when I was a kid I’d stay up all night when I had friends sleep over.Once the children were finally “out” we played some board games, indulged in far too many sweets, and then climbed into the spa. I say spa, but it was really something more the size of a small pool. My body doesn’t appreciate hot places for some reason, and after an hour of so I was very uncomfortable. However Kylie and Deb stayed in until close to midnight. Too late for me. I stayed up, talking with Trevor until then, before collapsing into the bed, completely overcome with exhaustion. I love that feeling of being utterly tired, and lying in bed feeling gentle waves of relaxation make their way throughout my body. I couldn’t enjoy it for long though. I fell asleep too fast!
We arose far too early Saturday, thanks to the children of course. They were so excited to be “doing” again. After cereal, bacon and eggs, and juice, Trevor and I took the children for a walk for a couple of hours. They chased cows some more, then ran down to the boat ramp to pick up rocks and explore. Meantime Kylie and Deb wandered into town (500m in the other direction) to do a spot of window shopping. We drove 20 minutes south, to Berry, just north of Nowra, and played in the park there. Kylie and I fell in love with the place. So quiet, and romantic. In the park we saw a motorcycle gathering or rally of some sort. It included bikes from as early as 1906! It looked more like a basic bicycle with a motor on it. I wished I was a bike enthusiast because I could have really appreciated the history I witnessed.
+with+Annie+Grace+(9+months)+Gerringong+June+2008.jpg)
We completed our trip at Bombaderry where we ate far too much at a Chinese buffet-style lunch, before driving back to Wollongong, drowsy, drained, and over-indulged! It was obviously a very quiet night. We had an unexpected visitor at aroun 8.30pm. An older gentleman and his wife (from church) had decided to surprise us with a bag full of goodies (Tim Tams, Mint Slice, Maison, Corn Chips etc) for reasons we still don't understand. We are still shaking our heads wondering why, but grateful for the seemingly endless kindnesses and generosity we are shown here in Wollongong.
Once again we find ourselves being blessed more than we deserve, and finding friends who generously make our lives more exciting than we could ever do ourselves. We are grateful. To make things even better, we’ve had a week of rain and cold weather yet our break on Friday and Saturday, though, were beautiful. Oceans of blue above us, gorgeous sunlight, and warm days; heaven on earth.
I’ve been forced to contemplate the purchase of some wet-weather gear for the motorcycle. A few too many showers have caught me in the past week. I’ve been utterly drenched! We’ve also had some funny things happen with the children. Here are a couple of quotable quotes…
“Hey Dad, look at my Scottish Tartlett skirt.” Chanel trying to describe her tartan skirt.
“You MIGHT be right, but I don’t know my times tables.” Abbie responding to Chanel’s answer of 42. Abbie had asked what 6x7 equals, but then realised that no matter what Chanel said, she didn’t know the answer herself. I assured Abbie that Chanel got the answer correct.
Lastly, and perhaps most exciting of all, we’re watching our children grow and develop beautifully. This week Annie has begun clapping consistently. She has also started saying “dadad.” Of course, it’s just sounds for her at this point. But I love hearing her call me anyway! She has really begun crawling, and she’s doing it quite well. In the next week I’m anticipating that she’ll be able to move from one room to the next. And finally, after 9 months, we have our first tooth! It’s through! And as usual, Annie lights up all of our days with her endless smiling and laughing. She has the most wonderful temperament. Our Chanel is also showing signs of growing up too, although I’m not as enthusiastic about this development. I’m not sure that Kylie and I are ready for a little girl who’s not so little anymore.
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