& a purple balloon.

Being a Mum means:

Holding a balloon under one arm and eating a rainbow sprinkle crepe because Boy took my yummy strawberry Nutella crepe and handed me his balloon looking at me all like ' how do you expect me to eat your crepe with this balloon

And I'm all like. O.K - I can take that. I'll eat the sickly kids crepe that you insisted on having until 5 minutes ago and I'll hold that purple balloon like my life depends on keeping it safe because it means that much to you.

And I'll do it, and I'll hold it and I'll swap for worse food because I love you.

I'll pick you up off the train platform when you scrape your knee and carry you up a bazillion steps and check your O.K and since you're not yet, I'll carry you down another bazillion steps to get to the other side.

Because I love you.

I'll be excited the first time you say " we're on a train!" and the second time and the third...and the fiftieth. Because you're saying it with the same vigour fifty times so I can agree with the same vigour fifty times.

Because I love you.

Having a friend means:

Knowing I can send a text at 6.46am and that you won't care it's so early.

Because you love me.

Having someone to palm the super heavy nappy bag off to, and to sit with Boy on the train and exclaim with just as much vigour something train related... Like " now we're in a tunnel"

Because you love us both.

Lining up for crazy amounts of time and doing nothing productive and not reaching destination Ellen and agreeing to concede because you can tell I'm over the dust and the heat and the waiting cause I am weak.

 

Then happily ditching life for a while and showing me how to use a Myki and helping me get Boy on his beloved tram and eating salty pork because you love me.

Thanks for the day Julia and Boy, you take mediocre to literally amazing.

The Sham

I woke up this morning, unusually early, it was 6.30. I was up a good hour and 30 BEFORE Boy woke up. He woke up a little later than usual. I woke up a little earlier.

That wasn't the Sham .. But it was a shame .. Anyway.

The house. The house is the Sham. I swear we cleaned up Monday? Why does it look like an atomic bomb has hit it?

Oh that's right, I have a two year old, newly named hurricane destruction.

A two year old who is almost a three year old. Gah! We are all getting old.. Especially Hunna.

Because he just turned 28..

I'm married to a 28 year old. That's only two years off thirty. Now thirty IS old. 28 is just.. Nearly old. Mostly old.

But for the future...when I get to 30 it will be the new 16... Got it?

Anyway.

Hunna miraculously had his birthday off. ( Miraculously because he has worked day and night for the past three weeks. )

He was in Tasmania, then Queensland, then NSW then back in Tasmania with me for Oliver's baptism. Then back in NSW. And we thought he might be in South Australia for his birthday but he wasn't.. He was in heaven ( because he was home.. Right Hun?)

And now it seems he's home for the week. So we will keep him, cause we love him.

Here's 28 reasons why I love ya guts Hunna.

 

#1. Your kindness

#2. Your ( mildly inappropriate, but never seen) public groping skills.

#3. The fact you walked into Zumbo and said " I'll take one of everything" ( I'll be dreaming about that forever. ) and it reminds me of my favourite scene in Fantastic Mr Fox where he says " we took everything"

#4. Your smell. Polo smells good on you. But you smell good on your own.

#5. The fact you always perve on me and then pretend you didn't.

#6. The fact you look at girls I'm looking at and then say stuff like " your butt is so much better than hers " cause you know I was comparing.

#7. Your willingness to serve.

#8. Your chest hair ( don't ever wax it ever again)

#9. Your beard ( don't ever shave it ever again)

#10. Your sneaky toothbrush hoarding. ( got cha!)

#11. Your odd sock wearing.

#13. Your laugh

#14. Your dorky dancing skills

#15. Your weird tradie tan. ( it's endearing)

#16. Your desire to work, earn and provide.

#17. Your awesome carpentry skills ( hahha I'm sorry I said you are a terrible carpenter when the shelf didn't fit, ok?)

#18. Your sensitivity and how you pretend you're not. You really are stoic.

#19. Your nose, don't ask why. Just take it

#20. The father you have grown into and continue growing into.

#21. The fact you read my blog before I ask you to.

#22. Your exceptional toilet cleaning skills. ( chisel and all)

#23. Your corny Dad jokes. " Know what else is in'tents'?"

#24. Your testimony ( and the way you bear it every month because the 'Holy Ghost' pokes you )

#25. Your good nature

#26. You have great integrity

#27. You admit when you're wrong

#28. Because you love me more than I will ever realise.

 

Happy Birthday Lover x

{It is coming}

picture from here

There comes a time in life when you know all the things you have been dreaming are about to transpire.

All the back breaking, gut wrenching work you've slogged your way through is about to pay off.

This very day- in the mail- about to arrive in our little post box is one very significant and important piece of paper.

It wont be shiny or made from anything precious. But it will be worth more than any laboursome day in the life of an apprentice. In fact it will be worth more than the entire three years put together.

It will say "Hey, you! The one's who lived with your in-laws and sacrificed freedom and sanity.. Yes! You! it was ALL worth it " (can this be true?)

"....crushed, down trodden and weary we again, wait another week, work another week & hope that sometime soon our time will come."       (excerpt from my Journal, October 2011)

We wait with baited breath like we are in a dream land. Like we cant possibly imagine living on more than less than minimum wage (ahh. yeah...Julia -- could you do something about that?)

Everytime I turn the key and hear the latch click on the mail box... I hesitate.

Should I lift the lid?

It has seemed that financial despondency was part of life, will I now be able to shake the shackles from my wrists. Hasn't the weight of them on my ankles felt homely lately? Hasn't the raw rub of the cold iron against my skin felt familiar.. almost comforting?

Suddenly I realise, suddenly I find. This thing they call 'fully qualified & earning normal amounts of money'scares me.

The next 6 months are a critical pivotal point in our young married lives. Sink or float.

Save, come -  go. Move.. home? away?

The possibilities are inumerable.

We could end up anywhere.

So I hold my breath and wait and hope the suspense doesn't kill me before the lack of air does.

A letter to Pege & Steve

There was a tribute to Peter Harvey on the television the other night. They showed a clip from one of his last interviews.

He spoke candidly about his emotions and commented that it's against Australian culture to be so open about such things.

Isn't it funny that we leave out the important stuff a lot of the time. To spare the embarrassment of showing emotion? I'm not sure.

Perhaps I leave out emotional things to be polite. To spare the receiver any messy thoughts which haven't been thunk through properly.

The other day I got a letter from a couple I bumped into while I was in Tasmania.

I have a lot of time for Pege and Steve. Talking with them both is like slipping on an old, comfortable pair of shoes. It feels like home the minute they're on.

The card was a tribute to the thoughtfulness & kindness of them both.

Here is what I should've written in reply:

Dearest Pege & Steve,

Thank you so much for your card and the thoughts it contained.

It's funny how things over the Christmas period happened but it shows just how much Heavenly Father knows me and what I need. Even though I was so unwell everything happened just as it should've and there was an entire army of people to help and support me.

I feel stronger and healthier physically and especially mentally now that I know everything is finally solved.

It was lovely to be able to speak with you both - even for a brief moment.

When I saw you at church it made me happy to remember how much of a soft spot Dad had for you both.

Over the years and after getting married and moving interstate it's always nice to be able to go home and feel the closeness I get from mixing with people who knew Dad. Like each of you holds a little piece of him. A little reminder of the great man he was, and is.

So it is always a pleasure to see you and never a burden to chase you both down whenever the opportunity arrises.

I am thankful for your prayers and again thank you for your card.

Jess x

who knows what I'll write when I reply to the beautiful card they sent me. Perhaps I won't reply at all. After all, there isn't always a need to.

ask Mummy Gibson

Our internet is finally back on. I am super, SUPER excited to get back to normal internetting activities, however, just the other day Boy spilt water ALL over the keyboard.  So now it isn't working, but thankfully I found an app for the ipad which turns it into a wireless keyboard board.

It's not ideal but it will do for a while.

So without hesitation I am returning with a Mum post.

read the last 'Ask Mummy Gibson' post here

Mum at our Tasmanian reception

Ask Mummy Gibson

At the end of last year you went on a trip to Korea, what is something you learnt while you were away?

Korea was a spotlessly clean country with no graffiti anywhere.

  

The people were very proud of their culture - and it went back for centuries - very old culture.  They have had lots of wars and problems over the years but have come through to be a wonderful people.  I learned it is possible to be like this and still have 48 million people in the size of Tasmania - I wondered why our country is so messy?

They are all very smart and well dressed.  Very few tourists so we stood out.  Really up on the technology.

How many overseas destinations have you been to, where were they and what was your favourite?

I have been to Fiji, Thailand, United States and now Korea and Malaysia.  I really liked Phuket off the coast of Thailand, and Langkawi off Malaysia - those resort kind of places are great.  I liked the States because it was all so relevant to me.  I can't really pick a favourite all have something good about them.  I really like seeing how people of a different culture live and learning about their history.