The Friday Recliner went the way of the birds this week. As I’ve said before, sometimes I take my own advise and choose rest over pushing through, so Friday night I took cakes home in celebration of the end of the working week, cleaned up my tip of a kitchen, which was actually quite relaxing, drank tea and went to bed earlyish.

Today instead of heading straight home from church I drove south to Kiama to make something of the sun and the gorgeous day so I write from a picnic table facing the ocean. I love a good solid picnic table, this one worn and weathered with bolts rusting but still solid as a rock. I never pass one without wanting to stop and sit. There’s probably prettier places I could have picked but who wants to be driving around all day and this simple spot feels like a gift, the air is fresh and crisp and mild for a winters day, another gift.

I felt sad driving around in a lot of ways. Places have a way of making you melancholy. We came here endlessly when the kids were little: fish and chips, Sunday afternoon markets, the petting zoo we couldn’t ever go past, Eth crab hunting on the rocks when the tide was out, hours at the swings and ice creams of course. The kids though now are almost grown. Livs at work today, Eth either still asleep or off with friends. Ken laid up in hospital, the diabetes and the bad feet catching up with him. I’m sad for what’s lost and gone but I’m grateful that here in this place there were lovely times, here we were a family.

Ken had a capacity to play endlessly with the kids. I’d be in the zone for a bit but I’d be ready for a coffee or a sit down before long, but Ken had staying power, pushing them on the swings, jumping in front like he was gonna be hit and then darting away just in time which they thought of course the funniest thing ever.
We’d buy pho soup at the Thursday night markets here, it would be chilly and that hot spicy soup was perfection. Liv was too young to enjoy it so we’d have to go looking for chips or something simple for her but now she eats chilli on everything. She was funny with her food, she loved the idea of an ice cream but have three licks and be done. That’s where I came in, eating mine and hers as well and speed was of the essence. Eth was passionate for ice cream but I remember him whining and carrying on over a rainbow ice cream he had one day. He always wanted the rainbow but then didn’t like the taste or maybe it was the dripping so Ken grabbed the ice cream and tossed into a bush to be done with it making us laugh. Eth after the initial surprise looked all relieved. We do that don’t we, fret about things, wrestle with them and then the sheer relief when we just let go.

I’m parked at the top side of town near the church that overlooks the ocean. Its a walk up to the shops that I’m not sure I want to make but what are Sundays for. At home I’d be cleaning the bunny cages, so today I’m opting for the leisurely walk.

Xx