Two Weeks in the Blink of an Eye

Two weeks will vanish in the blink of an eye! The week ending Sunday the 29th March was relatively uneventful. I put in a rigorous week at uni, Kylie was flat out with the children, the house, her volunteer work with the pre-school and blind bike riders, and who knows what else. But little occurred that is noteworthy in any way. The only highlight is that the bank approved an extension to our home loan so we can repay our debt to mum and dad. We are looking forward to the funds being ready to draw down and for mum and dad being able to receive their money.

Saturday the 28th was a tremendous day, perhaps even the highlight of the week. Kylie and I had planned on enjoying as much of a sleep-in and cuddle as possible. However Ella had me awake right on 6am. I put her back to bed and she settled into sleep quickly, but I was awake. I decided that I may as well go for my usual 70km Saturday ride. As I left the house little Annie awoke. That meant Kylie was awake too. My ride was great! I arrived home to find an annoyed wife, but she had created a beautifully clean home. Plus the family was ready to go hiking. I gobbled a banana sandwich down (not nearly enough) and we piled into the car. Kylie eventually forgave me for leaving her in the morning and our hike began.

Our Mt. Keira hike was a genuine adventure. My legs were already weary from the ride, so carrying Annie on my back for 5km up and down a mountain only added to the fatigue. Despite this, things went really well on the hike. We made dozens of stops along the way though. Leeches were everywhere. Fortunately I had brought the salt and it came in very handy. I think I probably removed somewhere between 100 and 150 leeches from Kylie and the girls. It was astounding. But the children were mostly very brave about it, and have learnt a lot about how leeches work.

I told them all about old Nanna Bunt (1903-2001 I think), Pop Bunt’s mum. When she was a young girl she used to go down to the local creek and allow the leeches to fasten themselves to her legs. Then she and her friends or siblings would remove the leeches and put them into jars to sell at the hospital. The children were comforted to know that nothing fatal would occur. It felt good to talk about a much-loved ancestor and pass on a small part of her life to the children.

Perhaps the scariest experience of our hike was the red-bellied black snake. Abbie was several metres ahead of everyone else, leading our family up the track. Kylie was next in line with Chanel. I was some distance back with Ella and Annie. Kylie stopped suddenly, frozen in her tracks. As I approached her, Kylie motioned towards the side of the track. Curled up in a neat bundle was a very long snake, watching the track – and Kylie. Abbie had already walked several metres past the snake. Should we call Abbie back to us or follow her past the snake? After some nervous moments we each walked past the snake, hugging the side of the path opposite the snake, hearts pounding through our chests. It watched us, tongue flicking in and out, but it never moved. We were relieved to finally reach the car again. Leeches were nothing compared to a red-bellied black snake!

When we finally returned to the car everyone’s shoes and socks were removed in search of more leeches. We compared blood stains in our socks before returning home for lunch to await mum and dad’s visit. They arrived late in the afternoon and we moved furniture around (having arranged for a new washing machine and freezer to be delivered to cater for the ongoing and growing needs of our family). Kylie and I were treated to dinner at a local restaurant for our anniversary while mum and dad looked after the children. We were so tired we were home by 9pm though! A terrific day.

Last Sunday I did something I’ve never done before. I sang with my dad. I love my dad’s singing and to share the experience with him was tremendous. We sang in sacrament meeting, Jesus the Very Thought of Thee.

O hope of every contrite heart, o joy of all the meek
To those who fall, how kind thou art. How good to those who seek.

There was no fanfare, and few comments from those who heard it. But a simple hymn was sung with a powerful and important message. It meant something to me. And it meant even more because I shared it with my dad. I don’t sing too well, but what made me feel great was singing with dad. Dad is one of the most beautiful singers I’ve heard. But despite the discrepancy between our ability’s, dad wasn’t too proud to sing with me. I was grateful for today’s time with him. Our afternoon with mum and dad was short but warm memories were created. Dad was in a great mood and joked with the children. Mum was relaxing a little and letting go of agendas and directives. A treat and blessing to share time with family.

This past week has been excruciating in its intensity. Monday we began the process of rearranging the house after mum and dad delivered many more furniture items than we had expected (or needed). I spent a weary day at university teaching. It was refreshing to take the children to the beach for Family Home Evening. We played in the water and on the sand for a couple of hours as we made use of the final Monday of daylight savings until next Spring.

Tuesday was busy at uni again, and in the evening we almost finished putting the billy-carts together for the young men at church. They’ve really enjoyed the activity and we’ve all learned a lot about handyman stuff.

Wednesday Kylie and I were not feeling great. Annie kept us up almost all night with high temperatures. Early morning (around 1am) Kylie had sent me off to the spare room so I could have a little bit of sleep. She stayed up with the baby. I don’t know how she functions on so little sleep. I arrived at uni bleary eyed and had just started working when the fire alarms went off. A ‘suspicious package’ had been found on the third floor so the building was evacuated for a couple of hours while the bomb squad were called. It was nothing other than an unwanted and irritable frustration in an already difficult morning. We cynically joked that it was likely to have been someone’s lunchbox left in a strange place and spotted by a paranoid security team member. I cancelled my appointment to apply for volunteer work with Lifeline on the phones. I have enough on my plate for now.

Thursday and Friday began the same way as Wednesday, with a screaming baby throughout the night. Again Kylie sent me to the spare room so I could sleep in order to work the following day. I was reasonably productive but Kylie was immensely tired by Friday night. It was a blessing that Annie slept all night without a sound on Friday.

Saturday we awoke, still tired from a huge week but refreshed enough to feel like the day could be a good one. We went to the park next to Wollongong City Beach for the children to practice on their bikes. As we arrived we saw police and SES workers all over the beach and headland. A helicopter was slowly flying along the coast. A drunk party-goer from overseas had gone for a swim in huge seas at 1am the night before and disappeared. We felt sad at the wasted life caused by a silly decision, but grateful for our family being together and safe.

Abbie, I have decided, is not ever going to be a champion athlete. Our little angel has many beautiful and special gifts and talents. But athleticism is not one of them. This poor little girl is not particularly good on a bike. In fact no matter how much time we spend practicing she cannot get it. And that’s WITH training wheels! I’m sure it will happen for her in time. But now is not the time! Ella on the other hand is amazing! She spent the morning zipping and zooming at great speed along the path. Chanel speculated that we may have a champion cyclist in the family, and it is not Chanel or I. Ella loves to run, swim, cycle, throw, jump, and so on. It was nice to see the girls play. And Annie developed a love for the slide and the swing at the park. She has not had many opportunities to use playground equipment, but I sense more visits will be necessary to keep her happy!

Today, Sunday, was the first day of standard time again. I love it when daylight savings is over. It seems natural and right to get up at 6.30am with the sun shining, and have it disappear at 7pm. And tonight was a joy to have the children sleeping before 7! Wow. Time to write, think, talk to Kylie, and relax. Beautiful.

Our morning was difficult. Annie has developed a rash. Rather than risk church we went to the doctor to be told it may be measles, rubella, or some other virus manifesting itself through a rash. The doc couldn’t be precise because it’s still too early. Fortunately Annie is sleeping now after such a tough week. Chanel was particularly troublesome and I didn’t cope well. We tried to resolve things – mediocre success. Then I took the kids to church (late), but my heart wasn’t in it today and I took little away from the meetings. Abbie gave a talk in primary which was cute. She is an amazingly sweet and good little child. This afternoon Chanel learned a lesson. Things go well when you listen to your parents, and they go bad when you don’t. After considerable time in her bedroom experiencing hubris, Chanel returned to our family much changed. A huge roast dinner with a happy family made for a perfect gift to complete our week.