Somewhat idly, in the midst of exam-madness last Thursday, my Beloved said: "Maybe I should take the kids up to Queensland next week. We could drive back down with dad when he comes. Be a bit of company."
My eyes lit up like a thousand Christmas Trees. "What a brilliant idea. What day? You can't go before Monday because Poppet has the dentist. Tuesday. Let me look at the flights for Tuesday. Talk to your parents. The kids will love it."
While my Beloved was still stuttering I had the flights worked out and the kids packed and ready to go. So yesterday we woke at 4am and by 5.15am we had our bleary kids dressed and at the railway station.
Despite the early start, the kids behaved beautifully, excited by the idea of the plane, of Queensland, of seeing Grandpa and Aunty Bec and Sheba… and all the thousands of frogs and toads and beaches. The train eased smoothly towards Melbourne as the sun rose, illuminating the rolling green hills of home. In the city, we caught another train, then the sky bus, and finally, six hours after we woke and tumbled into clothes, I was saying goodbye to my kids at the gate and, hand-in-hand with their rather shell-shocked Daddy (who was still protesting it had just been an idle comment and um, what was happening) they were crossing the tarmac towards the plane.
And of course I cried a little, sitting in the cafe watching the plane take off, because it's the first Big Adventure the kids are having without me. The kids and I have been on many adventures together, caught planes and trains and gone visiting by ourselves, but this is their longest Daddy-Adventure.
After their time re-exploring the beaches of Bribie and the Sunshine Coast, they'll be driving all the way from Queensland back to Victoria. And of course we drove there and back last year, so they're old hands. But… it still seems strange to be missing The Big Adventure. To know that this is likely something they'll remember for ever and I'm missing it. We've already skyped a handful of times. But to be honest the kids are too busy re-exploring their Queensland World. "In a moment, Mummy." At 7.30 this morning my Poppet was already packing to go to the beach. They're having a blast.
And me? I miss them and miss them and miss them.
But… if I'm to finish the 50,000 words of Nano on time I have 12,000 words to finish by Saturday. (It was 19,000, but I wrote 7,000 yesterday after I dropped them off.)
And a house to deep clean that hasn't been cleaned properly in at least three months as we've been sick and then sick and then sick some more, and then sick with exams. It would be nice to see the floor of the playroom again.
I've a bump to talk to I've been severely neglecting. Walking through the city yesterday I was completely, joyously, overwhelmed by the thought of the little person, growing and kicking within. Hello my littlest one. Who are you? O I can't wait to meet you! Up to now there hasn't really been time to think about it.
I won't feel quite complete until my little ones are home, and my bed feels very empty, but I am so incredibly grateful for this time to catch my breath, to stretch my brain, to write, to play with the house.
My eyes lit up like a thousand Christmas Trees. "What a brilliant idea. What day? You can't go before Monday because Poppet has the dentist. Tuesday. Let me look at the flights for Tuesday. Talk to your parents. The kids will love it."
While my Beloved was still stuttering I had the flights worked out and the kids packed and ready to go. So yesterday we woke at 4am and by 5.15am we had our bleary kids dressed and at the railway station.
Despite the early start, the kids behaved beautifully, excited by the idea of the plane, of Queensland, of seeing Grandpa and Aunty Bec and Sheba… and all the thousands of frogs and toads and beaches. The train eased smoothly towards Melbourne as the sun rose, illuminating the rolling green hills of home. In the city, we caught another train, then the sky bus, and finally, six hours after we woke and tumbled into clothes, I was saying goodbye to my kids at the gate and, hand-in-hand with their rather shell-shocked Daddy (who was still protesting it had just been an idle comment and um, what was happening) they were crossing the tarmac towards the plane.
And of course I cried a little, sitting in the cafe watching the plane take off, because it's the first Big Adventure the kids are having without me. The kids and I have been on many adventures together, caught planes and trains and gone visiting by ourselves, but this is their longest Daddy-Adventure.
After their time re-exploring the beaches of Bribie and the Sunshine Coast, they'll be driving all the way from Queensland back to Victoria. And of course we drove there and back last year, so they're old hands. But… it still seems strange to be missing The Big Adventure. To know that this is likely something they'll remember for ever and I'm missing it. We've already skyped a handful of times. But to be honest the kids are too busy re-exploring their Queensland World. "In a moment, Mummy." At 7.30 this morning my Poppet was already packing to go to the beach. They're having a blast.
And me? I miss them and miss them and miss them.
But… if I'm to finish the 50,000 words of Nano on time I have 12,000 words to finish by Saturday. (It was 19,000, but I wrote 7,000 yesterday after I dropped them off.)
And a house to deep clean that hasn't been cleaned properly in at least three months as we've been sick and then sick and then sick some more, and then sick with exams. It would be nice to see the floor of the playroom again.
I've a bump to talk to I've been severely neglecting. Walking through the city yesterday I was completely, joyously, overwhelmed by the thought of the little person, growing and kicking within. Hello my littlest one. Who are you? O I can't wait to meet you! Up to now there hasn't really been time to think about it.
I won't feel quite complete until my little ones are home, and my bed feels very empty, but I am so incredibly grateful for this time to catch my breath, to stretch my brain, to write, to play with the house.
nice
ReplyDeleteAdventure is always exciting. We love to do adventure because it takes us near to life and we learn to live in a better way. How do you think about Adventure Qld while travelling there?
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