What Day Is It?

I feel like I don't know what day of the week it is or where I am going .... The last couple of days have been ridiculously hard from an emotional perspective.

Mrs G had a very bad turn of events on Monday and ended up back in surgery on Monday evening. There's no clear reason for what transpired - although a brochure her surgeon provided at the initial consult indicated that what happened was a potential (but rare) side effect of the original surgery.

Having said that - it was bloody hard to watch and, I'm quite sure, far harder for her to live through. I'm glad it's over. Not as much as someone else is.

At this stage it looks like being at least another two days until Mrs G comes home ....

Which brings me to the kids.

They have been pretty good about the whole thing. At different times they both drag me aside and we have a chat about what is going on with Mummy and how much we miss her. I'm not entirely sure Hayz understands but she is very aware - when I picked her up from kindy today she was getting her hair done in anticipation of going to see 'Mummy at the hospital'.

LGR is quite aware and is very sweet with his concern. On several occasions he has wandered up to me and stated "I just love Mummy so much and miss her so much". He's made a couple of cards for her (which are the most beautiful cards you could imagine - full of the beautiful phrasing of a pure minded golden child) and even gone so far as to state "I only care about my family. Nothing else. Only my family counts."

Sweet kids.

Surgery

I guess a few readers already knew that Mrs G was a bit crook - she's been feeling unwell for maybe 2 months and getting really bad in the last couple of weeks. She was diagnosed with a fairly common issue that, unfortunately, required a surgical remedy.

The surgery was completed yesterday and the last day and a half of my life has felt like it has been never ending. Hospitals are terrible places and I couldn't imagine trying to deal with grief in such a weird place. Everyone in there is really nice and genuinely trying really hard but the whole experience of being in the place is somehow impersonal and just odd.

But I am travelling down the wrong path. 

Mrs G has come through surgery in tact and more or less healthy - but isn't coming home as soon as was hoped. As with any surgery there are potential side effects and she has one of them. Pretty severely too. It won't cause a long term issue but, unfortunately, can't be treated in the short term either. She just has to take very strong drugs and wait it out.

The op was yesterday - and only 3 hours late. The op and recovery took 1 hour longer than expected,  and then security tried to boot me out of the hospital within minutes of her coming out of recovery. Not happening dude ...

The kids have had 3 visits today - one before soccer, one after soccer and one after lunch. I think Mrs G is quite happy to see them, but also quite happy for the quiet periods in between the visits. 

Hayz kicked her first goal in soccer today. It was an own goal but she was pleased as punch. And it was deliberate. LGR plays tomorrow - his first Sunday game.

We took advantage of a very nice park opposite the hospital to have some scooter and bike time. LGR rode for about 30 minutes and still doesn't believe he can ride without me. I spent the whole time running next to him with one hand resting very lightly on his back. He may have started to believe at the end because he was getting faster and faster. 

He wants to ride again tomorrow :-)

Special Pictures

Honesty

LGR managed to snatch a few minutes of TV tonight and made the following observation about a female on the show:

"She looks a bit funny. When she's close. She looks better from far, far away."

I Can Fly High Like An ....

Believe it or not this is a photo of LGR at soccer taining. There is no training uniform so we let him choose his own clothes. The Eagles may not have won (m)any games this year but they're still loved in our house. By at least 3 of us :-)

The Return of the Mummy

LGR, Hayz and myself (and several other carloads of friends) went for a drive yesterday. It was a lovely drive. At the end of the drive we found a series of very cute cottages nestled amongst some lovely gardens. In one of the cottages was a lady we all recognised:

Mummy!!!

It turns out that Mrs G had a pretty good time down there in Kangaroo Valley - as did her travelling companions. She was happy to see us, but there was also a certain amount of sadness to be leaving her place of serenity.

The kids didn't mind that she was coming home.

We drove down via Bowral - which was packed even at 09:45am. A few of the families that ventured down with us (or with Mrs G - whichever way you want to look at it) decided to head back up via the coast with us. We bravely decided to take Kangaroo Valley Rd to get to Berry and then head to Gerringong for lunch. 

Kangaroo Valley Rd is everything I love about country driving - narrow winding roads up and down hills with switchbacks, obscenely good views and always the chance of either a head on crash or sliding down the side of a mountain. Some of the houses along this road are superb and I can easily envisage a life for myself an area like this.

We lunched, as planned, in Gerringong. Fish and chips in the park. The 'chippie' we found was very much in the old style - food served in grease proof paper and all sorts of once cooked but no semi-dried meats in the display - kranskys, crumbed lamb cutlets, patties, battered savs, pineapple fritters, crumbed and battered fish (looking like it was still frozen), fish cocktails, dim sims and chicken nuggets. There was even a rudimentary selection of salads.

While the place evoked some very old memories it must be said the taste of the food was underwhelming ....

The trip back home was very mellow. Both kids (and Mrs G) had a snooze and wihin a short while we were all safe and sound in our little part of the world.

Soccer

Both kids are playing soccer this year - and we've just come back from this weeks games.

Hayz is playing in a level called nursery. The field they use is about 30-40m long and about 20m wide. There are no goalies and only 4 on the field at a time. The refereeing is done by the coaches. I'm not sure but I think she enjoys the game - she claims to and has a smile on her face when she runs around. Getting her started is sometimes a bit hard but ....

LGR has moved up to U/7. He is playing more or less under the same rules as last year - but he personally is a much better player than when yours truly was his coach. He started the year better so I don't blame the coaching but credit his personal growth. Today he spent a half as goalie and made a couple of terrific saves. More importantly he didn't let any goals through (they probably missed 3 or 4 shots and LGR probably saved about the same amount) and showed no fear. It was kind of like the kid who started in goals last year but turned a bit shy when he realised that goalies get hurt ....

Mrs G is away for a couple of days - finally getting a chance to cash in her Christmas present. She left at about midday yesterday with the rest of the ladies in the group. They were all extremely surprised to see a limo pull up and then more so when they finally believed it was for them :-)

Pet Kangaroo

At some point in the last couple of days Hayz has decided she is parentally responsible for a trio of toy kangaroos she owns. The Mum and Dad kangaroos are, allegedly, quite good at looking after themselves but the baby kangaroo seems to need some help going to sleep. Each night Hayz wraps the baby kanga tightly in a little blanket and hugs him/her to sleep in her bed.

When Hayz woke up this morning there was some concern - baby kanga had disappeared!!! After a search he/she was located hiding down the side of the bed. Baby kanga was cold so Hayz and baby kanga curled up under a quilt and warmed each other up. A short time later baby kanga got lonely and the parent kanga's were found and the family reunited.

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LGR had his second soccer training of the season last night. He's going pretty well - certainly better than last year. He's far more enthusiastic and keener to get involved. He needs some speed and a little more 'mongrel' to actually go after the ball rather than hovering and hoping but on the whole I'm quite chuffed with him.

While playing a game last night another kid gave the ball a monstrous heave and poor LGR blocked it - with his nether regions. Tears flowed rather rapidly and a couple of minutes were spent crouched over on his knees. After a rest, a short walk and a drink he was back on - but obviously more wary.

A Reflection

I've had a couple of very fine moments in the last couple of days. I shall recount them in chronological order ....

A few nights back Clan Jones was driving home from dinner with some friends. LGR had gone to sleep as soon as we reached the car and Hayzey was right on the edge but still awake enough to talk. She gave us her version of what would happen during the week to come:

"Me and Mummy will spend some time together. Some girly time. And we'll go shopping. We will get a bone. For Casper. I'm thoughting this will happen on Wednesday."

Interjected through this were little yawns and pauses. And she invented a new word :-)

The other very fine moment was at Bents Basin. It occurred while cooking lunch. There was a very lovely moment in time where I mentally stood back and had a look at what was going on. We were outdoors in a beautiful, placid and relaxing place with friends. Mrs G was sitting at a camp table chatting, Hayz was pottering around the place being herself, LGR was next to me and were cooking a natural BBQ amidst the wonders of nature. It was one of those moments that was as close to perfect as you can get.

Lake

Clan Jones went on an excursion today. To the 'big pool' as one of us calls, or 'the lake' as another will describe it.

I call it Bents Basin - and I think it's one of the most fantastic places I've been. So relaxing, so mellow and so beautiful. 

We ventured out with some friends - arriving at about 11am. We were informed by a park ranger that were was a red belly black snake in the place we have traditionally sat so ended up in a slightly elevated position - which was conveniently close to any of the many wood fired BBQ they have out there. Lunch was cooked on aforementioned BBQ after taking up to 30 minutes to start it (we had no paper and spent most of the time trying to find something to light). It was a terrific lunch in the end - food cooked over smoke and coals always tends to taste better.

The kids played, and played, and played. We barely saw them for the whole time. It was nice to sit back and have an adult conversation while the kids were only 30m away - but they may as well have been on another planet.

Summer/Winter

On Friday night we finished up athletics for the year. On Saturday morning both kids played their first game of soccer for the year. 

It was colder on Friday night than it was on Saturday morning :-)

LGR has improved a lot from last year. He's far more willing to get involved in the game - kicking other kids in the shins, pushing them around a bit. He takes a little bit longer than he should over the ball but we can fix that. It was a big thrill to watch him get stuck in.

Hayzey is quite keen about soccer - but doesn't really get it. She runs around and is happy enough to kick the ball in any direction. She played a very long game yesterday (about an hour) and was exhausted by the end of it). 

Jedi Knight LGR

LGR has become enraptured with Star Wars and Jedi Knights. He constantly asks questions about them (Why do they do this? How do they do that? What if they ...?) and somehow managed to scam (literally) a couple of toy light sabres. He plays with them every day and has moderately good control over how he moves them. With both hands.  It's not uncommon to see him playing with a sword in each hand and having control of them - and having them both synchronised.

Mummy with Roller LGR

This picture was taken late last year up in Forster. In my mind it sums up everything that is good about having family.  LGR was rollerblading with friends and Mrs G and I were relaxing with some friends. It's a photo that captures a beautiful moment in time.

Daddy Pirate with Princess Dora

This is another photo taken from Hayzey's 4th birthday. It's possibly the first photo of me on my blog ... 

We hired a local girl who was after some pocket money to do face painting for the kids but she couldn't make it. In the end I think Mrs G did the face painting. The kids didn't care too much ...

Hayzey Dora Princess Girl

Hayzey decided we needed to have a dress up party for her 4th birthday. I was a pirate, LGR was Ben 10 and Hayz was Dora. She was a very beautiful Dora too.

What's Been Happening?

I'm back again!! Not sure if anybody will still be reading after a layoff of 3 months (oops) but maybe someday a few readers will drift back.

So, what's been happening? A lot.

Life is busy - but mostly good busy. The kidlets are keeping us very busy indeed. They have both started karate on Monday nights, and both started playing soccer on Saturdays. LGR trains on Tuesday nights and Hayz trains on either Wednesday or Thursday. 

There are also swimming lessons on Thursday nights, and, for one more week, athletics on Friday nights ...

The kids love it all. Starting karate is the best thing we could have done for them - it's given both of them a massive confidence and in the 4 weeks since they have started both kids have noticeably improved in a number of areas -behaviourally, scholastically, physically, possibly even socially. It's really nice to see.

Work is keeping Mrs G and myself on the hop. We are both 'in demand' and feel moderately safe in our jobs. You never really know what's around the corner but we are both well skilled professionals providing valuable services to our companies. It's nice to be in demand but sometimes you wish you could walk away. I'm sure if we had no job we would be wishing we were busy again :-)

I'll put up some pictures and try to be a little more consistent.