It's early Sunday morning, I am up to day 3 in bed with some obvious travel lergy and I leave for Oz on Tuesday (ears willing)!
Usually I look forward to going home for Christmas. It is a time of warmth - literally - laughter, friends, family and fun. This year looks a little different. I have a 90 year old father who will come out of hospital after a back op and will need 24 hour care, an 80 year old mother who is about to collapse from the sheer emotional weight of being the sole carer, and a darling friend and mother of two who faces the long and scary battle against an invasive breast cancer. How quickly life can change. I guess in light of all this I have a lot to be grateful for. And I really do.
As I look back on this year's blog, I realize that it has taken a back seat to my real life. So many wonderful and fulfilling things have happened this year that I have wanted to really 'live' life rather than ruminating on it. Plus of course, the work travel has been ridiculous. So next year I want to try and organize my time better so I am spending less time living out of a suitcase between travel overseas for work and across town to stay at my partner's place, and more time at this blog. We shall see.
In the meantime, I have a pile of books ready to take to Melbourne in the slim hope I will find time to swing in the hammock under a gum tree. This is where I wish I was a kindle lover, but sadly, I prefer to smell the ink on a new hardback! My pile includes the following, some old, some new:
- A separate Peace: John Knowles
- My sister my love: Joyce Carol Oates
- the hare with the amber eyes: Edmund de Waal
- The garden in the clouds: Antony Woodward
- The pages: Murray Bail
I light candles on this page in thanks for a wonderful year and in thought to all those facing hardship, struggle and pain. Happy Christmas and may 2011 be an easier one for you. x
2 comments:
I've been reading your blog for some time and I think this may be my first comment, my apologies for that. I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your ruminations as I live vicariously in NYC through you (there is so much I didn't know about NYC and its environs, so thank you for educating me on them). I look forward to more interesting snippets on life in the USTravel well home and I hope there is some cheer during your trip home and please pass on my best wishes to Jane (I found you through her blog). Merry Xmas and happy 2011 and I look forward to "seeing" you next year.
Engracia
Hello Engracia! Thank you for your comment. I did have a wonderful time in Oz, thank you. And Jane is being incredibly strong and brave. I am going to now browse your blog to get to know you a little better! x
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