My Getaway 2015

Another year and another getaway at the same place  This time I got to meet the owner and she is lovely. Going back to the same place feels like I’m building a relationship with the place, house, owner and myself. It’s a special thing and even though some things are the same, many things are different.

On my first day I went and sat on black beach again and did some nature art

And the really cool thing was that the next day when I went to the Kiama Farmers Markets, my art was still there

When I went back to the house I explored the backyard as I normally would do and I found a new addition to the place.

Chickens

Every time I come here the backyard becomes more magical with every stay

The next day was my big event: walking the coastal walk from Gerringong to Kiama 

I am crazy. I caught the train to Gerringong, had an egg and bacon roll from the bakery then rocked down to the Werri Lagoon. Who knew that Werri beach was soooo looooong. Anyway I made it and as soon as I was on the trail I felt immediate  peace.

What an amazing walk. My favourite part is the section between Werri Lagoon and Loves Bay where all you can see is blue sky, blue ocean, green hills and the occasional cow. It’s so dominate that it feeds your soul and does something to nourish it in a way you can’t imagine.

When I got to Loves Bay I was then walking along side civilisation and although it’s still spectacular it holds a different atmosphere. Finally I arrived at The Little Blow hole and to my absolute bitter disappointment the cafe that is close by was  closed……aaaarrrrrhhhhh

I had to regroup my thoughts because if you are familiar with Kiama you would know in order for me to get into town I would have to walk up and down a few hills. To regroup I sat on a bench under a tree that overlooks Kendalls beach and gave myself a talking to. “Listen here Tamar, just walk down that path that goes to Kendalls beach caravan park then take that short cut that leads to the other caravan park on top of the hill and then you will see Surf beach and there a coffee shall await you”…….Amen!

So that I did.

When I arrived at The Karari Bar on Surf Beach I was met with a lovely welcome from the owner. I told her that I had just walked from Gerringong and immediately she was offering me a seat and a class of water. Great hospitality and of course, coffee.

That afternoon when I got back to my accommodation I was wreaked but it was a good wreaked, it’s the wreaked that you never regret because you’ve achieved an amazing feat and fulfilled a long term goal.

This is me wreaked in the park

I slept well that night and woke the next morning and said goodbye to yet another getaway feeling refreshed, accomplished and ready to face the world.

When the Noise Stopped

Just recently I have noticed that I am once again able to participate in our church band.

How did this happen?

My son stopped having melt downs and has learnt the art of contentment.

It reminds me of when I lived on the highway and for most of my life I never really noticed the traffic noise or the trains out the back. Growing up living on the highway was a normal part of life and I really didn’t know any better.

Many years later a by- pass was developed which meant that all of the traffic no longer went past mum’s house. The first week of it being opened I noticed something really strange; I noticed the birds singing and I could hear neighbours conversations.

What struck me about all of this, was how I didn’t  notice the  noise of the traffic and how clearly it had affected my ability to hear other things. I liken this illustration to how I didn’t realise the noise of VCFS or disability was affecting my ability to participate in the church band among other things.

This is a stunning revelation and shows me that I am not one who can multi task and nor should I. I’m a slow and steady person and that’s why I’m going to win the race. If I can’t do everything than that’s okay.

I will learn from this and will never feel the guilt of not doing enough again…..seriously why do we burden ourselves with false guilt??? From now on I am deeming it inappropriate guilt because we are human beings for goodness sake!! Enjoy being human OKAY!!!!

Sorry, just got a bit preachy then.

So I’ve taken a moment of reflection and now I can’t wait to enjoy the next chapter of my life.

 

 

It’s Been A Great Holiday

Holidays are nearly over and for the first time ever I’m not jumping up with glee. Mind you, I am looking forward to back to school and having routine again.

So what’s the difference?

There has been a lack of the usual meltdowns and instead there has been interesting conversations, compliance and just general enjoyment. My little man has come a long way and is maturing into a lovely young man. My vision for him has been raised where it’s now time to stop underestimating him.

I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel.

These holidays became all about Star Wars

This visit to the river was unreal as I’d never seen my boy have so much fun swimming. He was ducking his head under water and trying to look for the city underwater.

This day was great, while Jason and I were getting immersed in mud Zach was off making his own connections with the community.

Even on a day trip there was lovely behaviour from the back seat. There were a few “are we there yets” but no too bad.

OMG he even cracked a whip

This day we had a lovely cafe date. I was so relaxed and nothing was a big deal.

look at that smile

Again, another coffee date where there was conversation and lovely interactions.

With so many lovely moments this holiday I am not worn out and for that I am totally grateful. Something is different and I shall cherish it. I look forward to this year and I know within my guts my son is going to be okay.

I will Call This Hope

This morning as I was walking to coffee I spotted an awesome sight. It gave me so much excitement that I crossed the road to take pictures.

Why is this so exciting? Or why should this deliver me some hope?

In the wake of our recent budget announcement there is a lot of discouragement within the community that I belong to. Even before the budget announcement there was a general discouragement that had tried to set camp in the community sector. So many people don’t even know if they will have a job in the near future due to cuts to funding.

Although I spent a day feeling great sadness for the future, I decided to turn my eyes up and put my trust in Jesus and found this comforting scripture in Job 5: 15-16 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;  he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.So the poor have hope,and injustice shuts its mouth.

Whoo hoo!!

So why does this give me hope? Get to the point Tamar!

This image gives me hope as it shows me that someone is partaking in creativity instead of vandalism. Somebody in the community decided to have some fun engaging in a productive activity instead of mindless violence.

In an area where one often witnesses abandoned shopping trolleys, broken glass, human faeces, syringes, burnt rubbish and general waste the sight of this was like a beacon in the dark.

It’s symbolic of a hopeful future. Lets not give of on hope people. The future is bright.

The 22Q Adventure

When my son was 18 months old we were introduced to VCFS aka 22Q.dil.11. Now that was a big shock!!!! He was born with a soft cleft palate that was repaired at 6 months and a heart murmur was detected. Never would I have thought that there would be anything else to come up and bite us in the bum. Ouch!!! What the heck is VCFS????? 

He is now eight and life had been an unexpected adventure. These are some of the highlights

Orr look at him receiving an award when he was in kindergarten

 

Oh look, this is a painting that I did in response to being thrust into the VCFS journey 

Awww look at him hugging the washing machine.

Such a sweet photo of my son and his Grandma behind him….notice how he is reaching his hand behind him so that he can have Grandma hold his hand.

I just love this picture

Us in the paper creating awareness

Looking quite dashing in his specs

Here he is picking up all of the cigarette butts from the ground. It became an obsession.

Getting rather excited with the fireworks set up!!!

Cheeky face

Too exciting…a train trip!!!!

Arh, the happiness……army clothes, a toy grenade and a trip on the elevator.

Life is good for a child with Q22

I have written a lot about VCFS and if you would like to read more of our journey here is the link 

 

Train Date

Today I took my little man for a train date and it was a lovely and enjoyable experience. Every holidays he asks about going on the train so this holiday I put it in my diary to make sure it happened.

I decided that Thirroul would be a nice place to venture.

When we arrived we walked to the beach and my son played at this super-duper park

And to my surprise, Thirroul has an Olympic sized salt water pool…..and what a lovely looking pool it is indeed.

Thirroul beach also has moments where one can practice their parkour if one so chooses to do so.

We then went for a walk to Austinmer beach, with some more parkour along the way.

The Austie beach rock pools were rocking today and I was impressed with the committed swimmers that I witnessed today bobbing about out there.

I love how the dressing room building reflected the ocean. It was all harmonious and music to my eyes.

After our walking excursion to Austinmer we headed back to Thirroul for some refreshments before the trip home. We entered one cafe and asked if they served ham sandwiches. No they didn’t, but they served toast. I was thinking, You could just serve the bread pre-toasted? I took a moment to ponder this question and thought, I don’t think that they deserve my intelligence nor money so we went somewhere else.

Yeah for people who serve sandwiches. Tin Shed Cafe

The food and service were great and I’ll be going back there again for sure. We had lunch, used the elevators at the station (a new obsession) and enjoyed the train ride back home. A lovely successful day if you ask me.

 

Let’s Celebrate Life

I just stumbled upon this delightful video which celebrates Happy World Down Syndrome Day

I really don’t think that I could write too many words that express how awesome this is, except how good is it to see people happy and dancing. When you see a happy person having a good time you don’t really see the disability, you see joy and possibilities.

To all of my friends who are effected by disability, this is for you 🙂

Now lets dance!!!!

 

Gandalf

It turns out that one of the four chicks that we bought at the end of last year is a rooster. Gandalf was starting to make some funny noises similar to the sound of a rooky rooster. My husband was not happy and neither was my son

Gandalf is not a rooster, Gandalf is a female chicken- My son

We had explained to our son that we can not have a rooster in the middle of suburbia and he had many tears trying to come to terms with it.

One of our friends kindly offered to help us deal with Gandalf and I’m very grateful that she suggested and offered one of her hens to replace our rooster. As soon as we told Zachy about the new hen, he immediately cheered up and named the new chook Tenor.

So today our friend who writes Just like my Nan made came to our place and turned our rooster into something that we can now bake. She also  arrived with our beautiful new hen called Tenor.

How Was I Doing It All?

For some time now, I have shed a lot of activities from my life and as a result I seem to be in a more happy and calm place.

Last year I was struggling to keep up with my study work load and as a result had failed five assignments and a subject. When I decided not to continue my studies a burden was lifted off me and even my son told me the next day “mummy, I’m happy”.

I look back at all the things I was doing and wonder How was I doing it all?

I don’t think I realised how demanding it is to bring up a child who has a disability and I underestimated the emotional toll that it takes. I’m not resentful of this because my son is one of the biggest joys to our lives, however I just have come to recognise what it takes to get through this marathon with your sanity intact.

I’m not allowing myself to be put under any unnecessary pressure and as a result life is just so much better.

I don’t care much for ambitious thoughts right now as what do I have to prove? I have nothing to prove to myself or to anyone, I just am. I am me. I am loved and I have been created by God for good purposes. What is my purpose? Right now it’s to nurture my family and take care of my emotional life.

I think that’s a good start 🙂

My ambition, is to be a disciple of Jesus and that’s not to difficult as hanging out with Jesus is very rewarding. My joy, is just smiling at the world and being grateful for my life. My sanity, in tact!!!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Family

This is my little family