My Sundays are getting busier and I’m getting tireder. This means that by Sunday evening I’m less interested in reporting on my week and more interested in sleeping. Here’s an update from the past couple of weeks…
Kylie is going mostly well. Pregnancy makes her tired and sick, but we’ll be at 12 weeks by the end of this week so things should start to improve. Kylie assures me that this will be our last baby. She really doesn’t want to go through the sickness and pain again. But she’s said that before so we’ll have to wait and see. We’re so excited to be having another baby. And it feels as though we’re coming out of the worst of it. Kylie has energy and enthusiasm returning to her veins and even got out for a bike ride yesterday.
We visited Canberra last weekend. Abbie’s best friend, Elissa Thayer, turned seven. It’s a long way to go for a birthday party, but it was worth the trip. We ate dinner that cost far too much (never again) at a Spanish restaurant (never again), and stayed at a hotel that had no soundproofing (never again). But time with friends and family was thoroughly enjoyable, even if all the travel knocked Kylie around. We were glad we made the effort.
Chanel is growing up so fast. Our big girl will be ten years old in a matter of weeks. We are so proud of the way that she is growing. Chanel pushes us consistently with her unceasing pleas for “more”, be it time with friends, treats, play time, expenses, or whatever. Chanel also drives us crazy with her treatment of her sisters. Yet Chanel delights us with her enthusiasm and courage to do what is right, even when friends make other choices. Chanel is warm and affectionate with everyone in the family and has a wonderful social intelligence.
Chanel’s favourite quote at the moment is “and you always were.” Lately she’s called me a bully when we play or do chores. I deny it. She re-confirms that I am indeed a bully, and “you always were.” We always laugh at that. She’s doing well enough at school although we’d like to see better results. Our concern is more with the teaching than with Chanel’s performance though. Her teacher is not a particularly motivating soul. I also think it’s unlikely that Chanel will continue to have involvement in cycling beyond summer and track. She loves to explore and try new things. I’m not sure what the next new thing will be, but we’ll find out in autumn. I expect it will be netball or soccer.
Last week after the absolute worst dust storm I’ve ever experienced I came home from school and invited Chanel and Ella (Abbie was swimming) to earn some pocket money for the school holidays by doorknocking the neighbourhood and asking people if we could wash cars. Chanel was enthusiastic and did all the “sales”. She also washed with all her might. Together the three of us earned $60 in just two hours. Chanel has a great work ethic, especially when she knows she’ll receive a fair reward.
Abbie May is a little heart warmer. She is so soft and quiet, and loves to sing at the top of her lungs. It’s beautiful, although her singing can be hard on the ears. Abbie sings through her nose, and it sounds nasal! Kylie and I bask in Abbie’s enthusiasm for music, but we try to do our basking with our fingers in our ears. It’s amusing and charming and gratifying all at once. Of course, Abbie tries us too, as all children do their parents. She is the “dobber” in the family and is known to whine for extended periods, particularly when asked to do something she doesn’t want to. And Abbie has domestic blindness, like me. She struggles to find household items that are right in front of her.
Despite Abbie’s humanness and fallibility, we are besotted with our soon-to-be-seven year-old. Abbie has become a committed Girl Guide and approaches Wednesday evenings with glee. She savours her time at Guides and expounds on her experiences enchantingly when we collect her. Abbie’s first ever Guides camp is coming up in a few weeks, staying overnight at Moss Vale or Bowral I think. We’re nervous, Abbie’s excited.
Abbie is having a terrific time in class at school and has a focused and motivated teacher. Her reading is off the charts, and she does well in other subjects too. At the moment Abbie’s favourite saying is “Oh come on Dad” with a hint of a smile, and a delightful demand, when she wants something I say she cannot have. It’s so cute, and done in such fun.
Ella… I always smile and shake my head when I think about that girl and what to write. Her character is over the top in so many ways. She loves to be affectionate with us, and has ants in her pants when it’s bed time. Then, she falls asleep instantly when I sing her a lullaby each night. Ella’s enthusiasm for play is a great strength for her, and also a problem. She’ll disappear without a sound and we’ll spend 30 minutes looking for her. She’ll have walked up the road to a friend’s house, or down the road to a friend’s house. They’re all close by, but too far for a five year-old on her own. She’s simply so independent. We’re fortunate to live in a quiet and safe street with lots of good families.
Ella is looking forward to being finished with kindy and going to big school next year. Her speech has improved dramatically and her swimming is going very well. She has a genuinely funny sense of humour and makes us laugh a lot. And Ella wears us out, doesn’t like to listen when asked to do anything contrary to her desires, and generally raises our blood pressure. We love her to bits.
Annie is still our precious baby girl. She’s just over 25 months old. She has completely trained herself to use the potty and abhors nappies except when going to bed. We have the occasional accident, but very infrequently. Her personality is perfect, her smile is full of love, and her cuddles are heavenly. We love all of our children, but I don’t think any of them have been as lovable and as loving as our Annie Grace. She walks around the house knowing that she has all of us wrapped around her fingers, yet she doesn’t wield her power unfairly. Instead she uses it for cuddles and kisses and getting her hair done or shoes put on. I have no words for how we adore our Annie Grace.
So that’s the update on our family after a while where I’ve shared little. We’re far from perfect, particularly Kylie and I (particularly me), but we sure do love each other a lot, and love to spend time together.
Generally things at uni are picking up. I’m about to begin interviewing participants for the next round of my data collection. I hope to interview around 20 people over the next couple of weeks. From these interviews I’m hoping to get some terrific information that will be useful for my PhD. My honours student, Jo, has also had excellent success with the project we have been working on. We’re investigating compassionate love and resilience, and the results are looking promising. More on that in weeks to come.
My bike riding is all-consuming! I’m still entirely obsessed by it and am riding as much as possible. I seem to be getting around 300km a week in on the bike now. Racing season is over, but I’m organising a track bike so I can ride the velodrome too. This will mean that Friday nights will be busy.
I’ll write again briefly on Sunday, but there won’t be much to add as this week is looking fairly quiet.
Hoping that this letter finds all of our dear ones well.
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