Today, I had an appointment with a cranial-facial surgeon for my son Lukey about the chronic recurrent perotitis that he has been suffering over the last 18 months. The appointment was at PMH which is Perth’s big children’s hospital and I must say I am impressed with the service.  We saw both the registrar and the surgeon who then referred us on to medical imaging for a contrast CT scan which will be performed on Monday, then we see the surgeon again in two weeks. Considering the volume of people that they see everyday it didn’t feel like we were a number and we didn’t wait long at all.  It is all being supplied for through Medicare which is the public funded health system. I’ve never been a Medicare advocate as both Jas and I both pay large amounts of Medicare Levy, plus it is compulsory for our family to have private hospital cover otherwise we have to pay a higher Medicare levy.  So it always seems that we are forever paying in and never taking out. I shouldn’t really complain about that as it means we are generally a very healthy family (as are most middle class families). But today my stance on Medicare has definitely softened as when you become personally involved it appears to be a fair system and it doesn’t matter what your socio-economic status is because everyone is treated equally. I also realise it is a system that is under intense financial pressure due to an ailing population and that at some point something will have to give.  I still think Medicare is one of the better health systems available in the world especially compared to the US and to New Zealand.

“Tahi, One Lucky Kiwi” by Melanie Drewery is a true story about a little Kiwi named Tahi that lost one leg in a trap and how a big team effort was put together to save Tahi’s life and also about how they made a prosthetic leg for this little Kiwi. The story is told from the point of view of a young boy telling his class news and the class study on Kiwis. Tahi (tar-hee) means number one in Maori. The book has all sorts of facts about Kiwis.

“‘Rescuers flew with him. They put that leg into a big fat plaster cast that thumps as he walks.’ ‘Fancy that,’ said my teacher.”

A few months ago I went through a “drama” with one of my boys.  He supposedly grabbed/pinched/punched one of his closest friends on the private parts (through two layers of clothes, may I add).  The fall out was incredible, suddenly my loving son was labeled a sex fiend and a pedophile by narrowed-minded mothers. Parents contacted me saying that Mitch was not allowed to play with their son anymore for a variety of reasons including because “my partner was sexually abused 40 years ago”!!!! I was hurt, angry and very upset. Obviously my maternal instinct was taking over my rationale and I was ready to physically kill someone, instead I saw the school counsellor who said that it was normal 8yo behaviour in boys as they start to realise that grabbing someone on the privates makes them take notice of you (very quickly) and she also said that if the negative fallout continued that she would contact the parents and set them straight. I always believed that the mother’s over reaction was a reflection of their own insecurities. And that many adults find it easier to pick on a child than look in the mirror and do their own self-evaluation for fear of what they might see.

Anyway, yesterday Mitchy came home from school and said that he had nothing to do at lunch.  I asked him where his other friends were and he said they were playing a game called “Think Quick” and then proceeded to say that the game is where you think quick to try and stop other people grabbing your privates. Mitch told them the game was silly and went to play cricket with another boy who has a disability.  I had to laugh to myself (very loudly) because the absolute irony of this is that some of the boys that were playing the game are boys that are supposedly no longer allowed to play with Mitch.  If only their well-to-do mothers knew about that game.

I love it when events happen in life that put a perspective on other happenings. It helps to put things more clearly in my head. I’ve learnt throughout this that I need to learn to take things a little less seriously and that following my own heart is so important for my family. I knew that Mitch’s behaviour was normal. And this is just another example of one of life’s little ironies.

My mind is still in a boggle over my high school reunion. Reunions in New Zealand are different to that in Australia as they’re generally held every 25 years with the College’s jubilee. So instead of there being one graduating year we had 50 graduating years all attending at once. I was really apprehensive about whether I would feel apart of the reunion as I don’t have particularly fond memories of the school. I’m please to say it was absolutely amazing. I caught up with my closest friends that I had at high school and haven’t seen for 20 years, but it felt like we had never been apart. It was so nice to know that people actually wondered what happened to me and it was great discovering what everybody else had done over the last two decades. At high school I was a complete ratbag and so were the majority of my friends but we all are successful in our right, we’ve all made our way in life and faced any challenges head on. I am surprised though that nearly all of my friends have kids that are teenagers whilst my oldest child is 8yo. I always thought that growing up in Otaki had been a disadvantage but I now believe differently, as going back has shown me the sense of community that the town actually possesses and how, even though I’m not Maori, how Maori-tanga is such an intrinsic part of my being.

Being back in NZ brought back to me how absolutely beautiful it is, the  huge imposing snow-capped ranges, the rolling green countryside, the gorgeous wooden houses and the dense, lush green bush that is everywhere. This is a complete contrast to Australia with it huge almost barren flat land that goes for thousands of kilometres in all directions.

Wellington around the bays

Hutt Valley across Wellington Harbour

My sister, Brenda and niece and nephews in Wgton.

 

 

Today I’m off to my high school reunion in Otaki, New Zealand. I am feeling excited especially about seeing my big sisters and their kids. I haven’t seen Taylor since she was about 9 months old and now she is almost 6. I can’t wait to have long conversations with my sisters as I miss them both on a daily basis, but I’m also terrified out of my skin. I’m a very nervous flier, in fact, I’m a true Kiwi – a flightless bird!  I was actually feeling extremely calm this morning but when I dropped the boys off at school both of them sobbed their little hearts out and all I could think was what if this is the last time I see their little faces. I feel like running back down to school and giving them one last little cuddle but I know that will just scare them.  So as I sit here typing this I keep repeating to myself the flying is a normal part of life, thousands of people do it everyday. I’m flying with a reputable airline and the pilot is highly skilled and highly trained. But that nauseous knot in my stomach just won’t leave me alone.

Our Wedding Day

Whilst we were away camping Jason and I had our 6th wedding anniversary. We BOTH forgot about it. Even though we both forgot it was no big deal. I know that my love for Jason was real and true long before we were formally married so our wedding anniversary is a mere date on the calendar.

I am one of the luckiest people on the planet because Jas is my husband, he is my ray of sunshine even on the cloudiest of days. We, as a team, have built ourselves a life that I could never have dreamed of, a life that is filled with love, wonder and complete happiness.  We may not be wealthy, but it is a life that is rich with love and fun. It is a life that is built on trust, respect and equality. We  think the same and dream the same and I can’t wait to grow old together.

Jason, thanks for the last ten years including six years of wedded bliss. I feel that I can achieve anything with you beside me.  And I love you deeply, always and forever. xxx

This is my post on why I’m a “scary mummy” please feel free to visit Scary Mummy’s blog and check out all the other scary mummies in the blogsphere.

My Scary Mummy Poem

I’m a “scary mummy” even though I try hard to be a mummy that is   yummy.

I’m a scary mummy because when I get very cranky my kids think I’m plain funny.

I’m a scary mummy because I have those funny white wrinkly marks that are stretches on my tummy.

I’m a scary mummy because all that I now can play is the “shopping list” game and Uno but not gin rummy.

I’m a scary mummy as I always used to have a handbag that carries wipes, diapers and even an old used dummy.

I’m a scary mummy as I love to cook for my boys waffles with ice cream and honey.

I’m a scary mummy because I no longer feel as though I’ll gag when my boys have a runny bummy.

I’m a scary mummy because even though I work I never seem to have any money.

I’m a scary mummy because my house is never tidy and my bath has a ring of scummy.

I’m a scary mummy because I’m obviously no poet and this poem is very crumby.

Over the school holidays we went on an awesome camping trip. We were only suppose to have one week away and we ended up having two weeks away. We did the Holland Track from Hyden to Coolgardie then we were going to camping around the Kalgorlie area for four more days. Instead we ended up going to Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, driving the Oodnadatta Track to Coober Pedy then driving back to Western Australia over three days. We did a total of 6500 km (4038m) over 15 days.

Uluru, NT

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is so much more amazing in real life than on TV. It is a massive huge reddy coloured rock that sticks out of the ground in the middle of nowhere. You could almost feel it’s heartbeat and breathe.

Kings Canyon, NT

We all really enjoyed Kings Canyon. It is a small canyon with a dried creek bed that is in the middle of hundreds of kilometers of flat land. It was great to see breakaways after 1500km of flat land that barely had an ant hill on it. Only drawback to this place was the billion flies that were too friendly.

It was in the Northern Territory that we all saw our first wild dingo. Jas and I went to the loo in the middle of the night and a dingo dawdle past us about 2 foot away. Then in the evening at the Kings Canyon campground a couple of dingoes were wandering around and kids were so excited to see one that they almost started to chase it.

A one pub town - William Creek, SA

Inside the William Creek Hotel

From Kings Canyon we drove down the Eyer Highway into South Australia and drove the Oodnadatta Track from Marla to William Creek. The William Creek (pop. 2) was a character filled old pub with hats, bras, and notes from travellers pinned on all the walls and even the ceiling. I loved this part of our journey even though the scenery was almost non-existent as it was rocky flat ground there was a historical railway line (disused) called The Ghan and the remnants included old bridges, old sidings and railway stations. We camped just off the track by a dry riverbed (all riverbeds are dry as it rarely rains) and in the evening we could see 3 beams of orange light shining over the horizon which freaked us all out. It was actually the moon rising and it was like a great big ball of yellow cheese. I never seen the moon so big before.

Inside a underground home - Coober Pedy, SA

 Our next stop was Coober Coober “>Pedy.  Coober Pedy is an opal mining town in the outback area of South Australia. 80% of the people live underground as it is cooler in the summer as it frequently gets above 54C (129F). So kids live underground and go to school underground and parents live and work underground. There is even 6 underground churches. This place was a complete culture shock to me. The town had not a speck of grass and barely even a tree. All there is are great big mounds of pale gravelly dirt, this was a town that was void of colour, it didn’t even have houses with different colours.

Underground Mining Museum - Coober Pedy, SA

 

Underground Church - Coober Pedy, SA

 The last three days were spent driving back across the Nullabor into Western Australia and home again.

Great Austalian Bight - SA

Sunset at Smoky Bay - SA

 It was a great holiday and we all had an amazing time and now fully understand the meaning of “the Outback” and how big this island home of ours is.