Hiya! it’s us… Mister C and Me…

Well, hello… We hope you are all keeping well and happy. It’s Easter this weekend (yay!); for all who celebrate this event, we hope the break is relaxing and you are able to spend some quality time with your family and friends. For other families and communities who celebrate other events, such as the Greek Easter occasion (next month), we hope your time is also relaxing and fun… Mister C was worried, the Easter Bunny was too tired to visit everyone’s house this year; I assured him the Bunny would be able to deliver eggs to everyone, as he was strong and very capable. This morning, I can report the Bunny did come to our place (phew!); Mister C was VERY excited (like all kiddies) and was especially pleased the bunny had left him a hand written note (he had asked for) stuck to his book shelf (along with Easter gifts too). It brings us parents such joy to see our children happy and content; I enjoy Easter (perhaps more so than Christmas at times); there is less stress over the day and we can chill out a bit more together, without the pressure of having to do certain things, we don’t necessarily wish to always do. As with every year, Husband commented last night within an earshot of Mister C, “We will have to leave the door unlocked overnight- so the bunny can get in!”

Funnily (and so cute), Mister C asked to go see’ baby Jesus’ (who he calls his God) about two weeks ago; he wanted to visit one of the local church’s here in town (a very beautiful place). I looked up the times for the services, of which were quite early- even for a Sunday morning… I said back to Mister C, we would have to see how the morning pans out, in time to do everything including our breakfast and egg gift opening; let alone our traditional egg hunt (not to mention daylight saving changes- clocks go back an hour in our part of the world this weekend too!) … I can report, we did go to the big church house this morning (I did feel quite refreshed after having a better sleep-with an extra hour too); Mister C was in awe of the beautiful huge wooden ceilings, stain glass windows and melodiously loud pipe organ. As a family, we had taken Mister C to a different church once or twice when younger- including his baby Christening; but he had naturally forgotten these occasions and didn’t really understand the events (due to being so little). It warmed our hearts spending some time sitting together and singing a few hymns too (thanks for having us!). Mister C said in the car going home, “I liked seeing baby Jesus today, Mummy. But it was quite a long time I had to sit still, and the church house did smell a bit funny!”…

Husband and I decided not to go away over this break and school hols time (after a few chats about our plans with the kids); we usually did (not last year though with Covid) while a lot of our family and friends have at present (hope you’re having some good fun?). This being mainly due to current budget commitments with our partly built carport, auto gate installs work and other house renos; not to mention our saving towards Widy’s new (second hand) car. We are all madly saving for this car (with the all-important driving lessons and car accessories too) at present; we are hoping to arrange the car as a surprise for (or around) Widy’s birthday in August (fingers crossed!). Mister C groaned and said, “When are we going to Mollybook again; can we go and see the Easter Bunny down there, this time?” I felt a twinge of (Mother) guilt, but replied back to him, not this time unfortunately, particularly with our new chooks who need extra attention at present. I promised to help build Mister C a great big cubby house over the long weekend; with both of us agreeing, the Easter Bunny would visit us anywhere we were, regardless of where we were staying. We chatted about possibly heading up to Dubbo during the third school hols, later in the year, to visit the big ‘Dubbo Plains Zoo’ (we love the zoo!). Mister C seemed excited by this, and I also reminded him that his Grandparents (hiya M & J B.L- thanks for coming up!) were coming up for lunch on Saturday, and Dad had booked a table at the local club; not to mention our Easter egg hunt on Sunday or Monday and a trip to our local pool too (how exciting!).

Good news, our new chook girls are settling in very well (‘Jasmine’ and ‘Ebony’); and have fully integrated well with our older (and sometimes cranky) girls. I can also report, they are not showing any signs of any zany rooster behaviour! (crowing or jumping on our backs-thank goodness!). I have to mention, just how sweet natured these two sisters really are; we are very pleased with our purchase and thank ‘Fife’s’ staff again for their help (always invaluable). Thanks also to my sweet Flossy, for helping with the new girls; it is really nice to have you around helping and for coming down at night (after the auto gate closes) to check on the girls too (love you heaps!). Big hugs to our Widy too, who has committed to work most of the Easter long weekend, while being committed to saving most of her pay each week too- well done love (every day getting closer to purchasing that newish car!) …

Moving right along, back to 2018 (nearly there yet?) … Okay, so we’re still in the midst of a bitterly cold Winter; (don’t ask me why), but we decide to go on a family trip down to Cooma and attend the Corin Forest ‘snow play’ day. The kids kept asking to go and play in the snow, and I had two weeks leave from work; so, we booked to stay two nights in Cooma (the best Chinese restaurant ever is there by the way!), to do some sight-seeing around the area, including the Old Cooma Jail ‘museum’ and Snowy Hydro ‘Discovery Centre’ (was all great). On the way back we drove to Corin Forest and spent the day there, for the snow play slopes; it was very cold, but so much FUN! The kids thoroughly enjoyed it (apart from feeling somewhat wet and cold afterwards); it was a wonderful experience to share together. I had diligently packed a change of clothes for everyone to change into afterwards; then we were able to grab a warm lunch and mugs of hot chocolate before driving back home.

Husband commented, “When at the snow a few days ago, Wife and I shared a very sweet moment together; where she kissed me three times (wow!) and said I looked good. I was covered in flecks of snow and felt the most invigorated I had in years!”… Shortly afterwards, Mister C grew very tired and unsettled (was a busy trip) and became difficult to handle. Like most of our trips away, it’s not all happiness- there is always a little bit of unhappiness (like with most families). Husband commented, “Overall, a lovely family trip; great fun going down the Corin Forest snow slope on the toboggans, over and over with kids. Only downer was Mister C kicking Flossy after the snow play and then carrying on in the café afterwards”…

The week before our trip away, I had a dear friend visit from the coast (hiya L.S); it was lovely being able to catch up and spend some quality time together, while also showing her around our sweet town area. After the busy school holiday weeks were over and the kids were safely back to school; I really noticed just how tired I still felt- not just the usual busy ‘Mum tiredness’. Husband commented that I looked pale and tired; I couldn’t shake the extreme tiredness and had a lot of discomfort in my lower abdomen (belly) area. I decided to take myself off to see our GP, for some further tests (not much fun- but sometimes is needed). Unfortunately, my bloods came back quite worrying, along with a diagnosis of extreme anaemia. After a heart to heart with Husband (and many of my tears later), I decided to get a referral to see a Gynae Specialist (specialist in female anatomy) in ACT for further testing (as I did have a bad history of severe endometriosis many years prior).

A long story shortened, I had a bung left ovary, an unhappy (well used) uterus, a mass (thankfully wasn’t cancerous- later found out with the pathology) growing on my small bowel, with nasty endometrial adhesions scattered everywhere in my abdominal cavity (ugh! how yuk!); all of which needed fairly urgent attention (and were going to cost a pretty penny to have repaired mind you!). So, over the next four months, I had to undergo three operations (the final operation in November was over eight hours long!) and numerous tests (including the worst- a ‘barium enema’-don’t ask me about that one…). I can report, I was well supported by my GP and Specialists (thankyou very much indeed) and of course Husband-thanks for being my rock! We had a solid (achievable) plan in place, to work towards (which is always a good thing); work was fairly supportive with my time off, where I would tick off each procedure and book in the next operation, while plan the costs and preparations involved.

I write and share these experiences today, as it is important to admit, sometimes we need to listen to our bodies (particularly us women) and reach out when we DO need help. Our health is very important to all of us, and it is vital to maintain good health in order to function, live our lives and care for others (be it family, children, patients or ourselves). If you are ever experiencing such (female or male) issues, please know you can get through it; there is always a journey to the other side (and you will get through it). Having support from whomever can give it to you is vital; it is truly amazing just how much we can go through in times of hardship (look at Covid last year). Having my family around me was wonderful and helped me (and all of us) get through; while also being able to focus on others (such as patients at work) did help too…❣

Husband commented, “It is very important and needs to be said, I got to thinking this morning, that if I lost one of the kids or Wife I would not want to go on, and never be truly happy again-never laugh whole-heartedly. But then I reversed this thought and thought about what if I passed on? I would be devastated if any of the kids or Wife went beyond normal grief and let me not being around consume them and let it diminish their life. On the contrary, I would want them to go on, simply remember fun and happy times, and still allow happiness in all its glory, still be a part of their lives, be able to laugh and joke and savour life.” Husband may not have shown much emotion (or as much as I would have liked) around the time of my operations, the hardship with my health and the pain I suffered post the operations; but this journal entry from around the same timeframe, really shows me he did care a lot about his wife and his family (and still does today) …

A Word from Mister C…

Mister C was sitting in the back seat of my car, after picking him up from school. Mister C sighed then said, “I don’t think the Easter Bunny will visit us this year, Mummy; he’s too tired, like Santa!” … “Oh, why, my son?” I replied, a puzzled look on my face. “Well, Mummy; Santa is tired from having most of the public holidays and for being SO famous. The Easter bunny wants more holidays now too; and is tired from keeping up with Santa! I bet he will take a break soon too, I think?” … “Oh, maybe, my son. But first, the Easter Bunny will deliver his gifts to everyone and then take a break, I’m sure;” I said, smiling back in the rear vision mirror to Mister C. “Oh yes, Mummy; I love those special eggs!”…😉

Stay tuned…

Well, exciting news… I have only eight pages of illustrations left to complete! I will endeavour to get these pages done before the end of the school hols (wish me luck!); so, I can upload it all to my wonderful designer and then concentrate on completing the story for our fourth book (wow!) … Exciting news, I have been lucky enough to have two events now booked in at our local Library towards the end of November this year- I will keep you posted over the coming months, with more details to follow (very exciting!). Me and Mister C really hope you have a relaxing Easter/holiday break and so something you really want to do. Thanks for reading our blog, it means SO much to us… ❤