Catch up

Photo above taken on Christmas Eve from a friend’s balcony. And ever since then I’ve had something on every day. I hardly drew breath after I finished work for 2012 until now. But it’s going to be 44 degrees celsius here today and I’m not really keen on venturing outside too much.

I had a good Christmas. I was the hosted it at my place and had my family minus one sister, and The Surfer’s parents and his two kids. It was the first time our parents have met and it went well. I’d borrowed a trestle table from a friend which meant we could sit outside under the shade. I don’t have the room to accommodate that many people inside for a sit down meal.

Unwrapping Christmas presents happened in two seconds and it makes you wonder why you bother stressing out over purchasing a gift that you’ll hope the recipient likes when it’s all over so quickly. Should one person unwrap one present at a time and gush over it more?  I don’t know.

We were in bed before 10pm that night and then I felt like my holidays could really begin.

We had another function on Boxing Day, also the day that my son is half a year away from his last and next birthdays. You’d think at 11 and a half that he’d remember to bring his jumpers home with him. We retrieved one, but one is still missing in action.

But in other news he’s a baby whisperer. Jumping ahead a week or so to yesterday, we visited a friend from work who had a baby on the same day as my birthday a couple of months ago. She had been feeling a bit housebound and a consequently a bit down and said that we brightened her day. JJ was so good with the baby that I could foresee his future as a dad. I told him this, and he reckons that he’ll let the mother take care of his baby for the first couple of years and once it can talk and walk then he’ll be a bit more interested and have more to do with it. I don’t think that’s true but I can relate because that’s how I felt, but didn’t have that option. However, after h0lding an unsettled baby and putting him to sleep a couple of times, I’m kind of looking forward to maybe becoming a grandparent one day. And as a parent it was fantastic to see him having an intelligent conversation about his passions with another adult.

I lashed out and bought my son a new bed mattress. Nine years ago or so, I bought him a brand new bed and the mattress I bought with it wasn’t that great. He has been complaining about it and saying that mine’s heaps more comfortable. Now he’s got the really comfortable one and I waved bye-bye to the old one this morning to the lovely guys who delivered the new one.

I visited my sister who lives a couple of hours away, the one who didn’t make it on Christmas Day. She lives ten minutes away from this beach you can drive onto. It’s one of those ones where you have to walk out a long way to get into any sort of deep water. But the dog and JJ had a great time.

More catching up was done with some ex colleagues. We always have a great time when we catch up and this time was no exception. JJ took this photo and exhibited the patience of a saint while catering to four women who didn’t want to show their double chins or have photos taken with their eyes closed. I wish I’d sat up straighter!

By the time the eve of New Year’s Eve turned up a good relax was needed. This was after a big beach session and a very busy week.

To wave goodbye to 2012 we went to a friend’s place at Port Elliott. They’ve just built a big shed in their backyard which was where the kids camped for the night. Because they pretty much occupied themselves it was like they weren’t even there apart from being fed and bringing in the new year. I love parties where you get to hang out with a close group of friends. It wasn’t a big party but that just means you can get around and really talk to most people. The boys there were a bit younger than JJ and he showed some really great responsibility towards them by including them, and making sure they had permission to go over to the playground across the road.

I struggled to make it to midnight and then got my second wind and didn’t get to bed until 4am. The next morning after a couple of heavy duty disprin, some food, a coffee and a swim in the ocean, I felt fairly normal. I was okay to drive home later on that day anyway, unlike the man I drove home who’d stayed up all night polishing of my bourbon.

I’ve got a few more days of holidays, a week of work then a few more days off to go to Kangaroo Island.