Last post of 2019

This will be my last post for 2019. We've already got our plans for New Years Eve set up. We'll walk to the market this morning to get some groceries for the rest of the week. After dinner, we'll walk to the stadium and watch the early fireworks. Then we'll wander down the river to the city dance party in the park, where we'll be ready for the midnight fireworks. And then we'll walk home in the first hours of 2020.

When we were looking at lots of houses all over the suburbs, we kept comparing them to where we already lived, and the fabulous walkability of our lives. How could we give up a location that has such great access to markets and parks and events and New Years Eve? Especially New Years Eve, which has become my favourite holiday.

I logged into Instagram this morning and saw lots of pictures of holidays of far away family. There is nothing like scrolling through dozens and dozens of photos of snow on mountains to make me feel like I'm living in a parallel universe. My photos are of green parks in the early morning.

A very warm trip to the zoo.

Grilling outdoors. 

Outdoor market. 

Lots of walks in the trees. 

And a trip to the beach (blue bar, green bar, gray bar).

We live in a universe, where the weather is gorgeous and my shoulders are sunburned and we keep the windows open at night to let in the cool breeze. The cherries have been perfectly in season, as well as the apricots and nectarines. I hear the sprinklers running outside as I write. It sounds and smells and tastes like mid-summer.

So anyway, this is my last post for 2019. It seems I should offer some reflection on the year, or at least a top ten list. But instead my mind is stuck on the contrast between my photos and the photos of the people I love, so far far far away, living in an abstract parallel universe, where we celebrate the same days, but in such different ways. I'll take my celebrations every time!

Summertime!

There is a heat wave going on in Australia. You probably will have read about the bush fires burning out of control in NSW.

We seem to be far away from that here. We've only had one hot day in the last week. The temperature topped out on Friday at about 43 degrees C (109 F). But then we had one of our cool changes. The daily high since then has been about 22 C (72 F).

I have been off work since Friday, which is a very nice place to be in the summertime.

In the hot hot heat Friday afternoon, Tim and I took Jonathan to his ice skating lesson, and sat and shivered and shivered and shivered for two hours in the purple cold.

I tell you, 43 degrees C (109 F) actually feels really really good coming out of the ice house. While waiting for Jonathan to pack up his bag, I stepped out onto the hot asphalt and took my bare feet out of my sandals to warm them up. Ah!

Then we picked a nearby restaurant for dinner, and chose to eat outside.

Jonathan, who had been exercising, was way too hot. Tim and I, after spending two hours being slowly refrigerated, found it lovely to thaw.

But as I said, that was the only one hot day in this whole massive heat wave sweeping everyone else in the country. Otherwise the weather has been lovely. Perfect for a walk in the botanic gardens.

And up through the arts precinct to the city centre. 

There are a lot of people out on a sunny summer day in Melbourne just before Christmas. Lots and lots and lots of people. Standing-room-only on the trams. People up to your elbows on the sidewalks. Jonathan and I were going to do a little clothes shopping yesterday, but the lines for dressing rooms were too long in the city centre stores. So the only clothes we bought were socks. Merry Christmas!

And then finally, I decided that this summer, I am going to get into better shape. While traveling in November, I found that I really struggled to lift my suitcase up to the shelf above my head on the train. Like shaky-arms, sore muscles, afraid I was going to hurt my back struggled. That's not good. So over the weekend, I downloaded a full body workout app and started exercising! Abs, arms, legs! I am going to be strong! Strong! Strong!

Friends, I am so sore I can barely roll myself off the couch. And that is with the app settings on easiest possible. For example, I had to pretend I could do three whole pushups to even get started, because that's the lowest number it allowed when it asked. And apparently when the app asks how many pushups you can do, it means "in a row", and not "ever in your life". What?! Can't you see I can barely roll off the couch here?

Maybe I should just ask someone else to lift my suitcases for me.

This boy

This boy. 

Thoughtful and polite. Smarter than you realise behind that sweet smile.

Case in point:

The scene: High school awards ceremony.

Every single subject offered in the entire school gives a subject award to a student. The head teachers of each discipline come up to announce. English teachers. Maths teachers. Science teachers. Language teachers. No awards for Jonathan. What no French language honorees at all?

Tim leans over. "Do you think Jonathan feels bad that he isn't getting any of these awards?"

"No," I whisper back. "He's getting a more general award later." We knew that. That's why we came.

Then the principal stands. "And now I will award the students who received two subject awards."

Ah. There was a French award. And more maths and science awards.

And now the students who received three awards.

"And now could one young lady stand? She received four subject awards!" We all applaud. She sits down.

"And now could Jonathan please stand? This young man received six subject awards." The audience gasps. English (year 10), science (year 10), maths (year 10), maths (year 11), physics (year 11), French (year 12).

AND the overall award we came for. AND a principal's all-rounder award.

Hugs after the ceremony. Basking in the glow of being this boy's parents.

"Hey," he says. "Did you know each award comes with a gift card? I just earned a ton of money!"

Any suggestions on how a teenager should spend $400 at the university bookstore?