Let them fly!

With all the changes happening around here, I don't know where my head is some days. I wish to thank each and every person who has contacted me wondering when I was going to begin blogging again...After dealing with Mum's estate; It's time I did something for myself again.....Well I guess now is that time.....

Please understand: I've been putting it off because I didn't want the most important post I've published, moving down the blog line.....and that was when I wrote about the recent death of my dear mother. It's taken some time for me to realise; and lots of tears, but I know that mum would want me to keep blogging. So I've moved some things around to keep some very important people at the top of my blog.... 

There will be more changes to my blog (slowly) as I get back into the swing of things....but they'll all be good, I promise.

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How does that saying go? If you catch a butterfly, let it go, if it comes back, it's yours....Something like that ....the point is...you have to let them fly!

Being a mother to two completely different boys...I often look back at all the one-on-one times with each of them. You know; the times before they decide they want to hang out with their Dad more..or hang out with their mates..you know before they discover girls? My boys are growing up, turning into fine young men too I might add. They've both now gone through all those stages and are both now preparing for their future. 

DS21 is slowly moving into Mum's unit (on our property). Sometimes we call it 'his place', but it will always be 'Mum's place' to me. His girlfriend is moving in with him after Christmas too which is such an exciting stage for a young couple. I'm glad they will be close, as DS21 still likes to come to me for advice, comfort and security. Since Mum has passed away and Hubby works away from home I've realized just how much I depend on the company of my boys. It's a big change for everyone having mum gone, and it's something we are slowly working on...and it's definitely a quiet change I wasn't predicting in my near future. 

Before Mum passed away I had made the decision to allow K to move in with DS21 into his bedroom and that they are welcome to live with us until they save a deposit for a house. I'm at peace now with the decision I made to move them into mum's unit; I know that Mum would agree with me. A young couple needs their space...they would have been rather cramped in his little bedroom....Mum was always looking out for her grandchildren and always wanted what was best for them. 

DS21 will be starting his 3rd year of his apprenticeship (Mum would be so proud of his top marks at TAFE) as an Overhead Linesman Electrician for CityRail and K (his girlfriend) will be begin studying as a Veterinarian Nurse in the new year. It's a big move for K living away from her family (10 hour drive)...but don't worry K's Mum...I know I will look after her as if she was my own. It will be good to have another woman in the house too.

DS17 (18 in the first week of January)  [to soon I might add] has also had some changes with his world too. While he played a big part in his Nan's life, he has had some good distractions to help him cope with her death. DS17 recently obtained his licence and is able to drive a car on his own now. I've bought mum's car for him from her estate and it's a comfort knowing the history of the car and the maintenance that my hubby and boys kept up on it too. Last week DS17 approached the same business where DS21 first started employment and came home with the offer of being accepted for a trial shift. While it yanks hard at the heart strings, I'm pleased and mighty proud of my boys for the growth they have made over the last 12 months..

I guess his trial went well (I knew it would though), because last night DS17 had his 2nd shift at Sam's Pizza delivering the best pizza's in town. Being offered a bright snazzy new uniform I guess he is part of the team now. So now he is part of the workforce now too. He looks so grown up......

Sam's Pizza - DS17 Delivery Driver

This is new to me too, as I'm not used to being on my own for meals, and evenings....another change I wasn't counting on anytime soon.....While I know that this is only a temporary position for him, I also know that he is reaching higher with possibly a trainee-ship in the Army. That's a whole new change I will deal with if/when  the time comes. For now, I take one day at a time!

We all have to start somewhere...I started with babysitting...like lots of my friends at the time...then moved on to a take-away shop on the front counter and on from there......

Looking back...Mum had watched my sister, then my brother both leave the nest and marry....then my father died, then I left the nest....I wonder what things mum did to help her cope with the loneliness, the humm of the silent house?  It must have been tough for my mother to let me go, being the baby of the family, not having the love of her life to grow old with......I wonder how she coped with this "Empty Nest feeling"?

If my mum hadn't let me go...I never would have learn't to fly.....

It's not only my boys who grow from the decisions I make...It's me too! 

I'm letting my boys fly now too!

New Beginnings

Things have been extra busy around here. I've been putting off an announcement for a while now, which I can't delay any longer. It's like If I don't write about it, it won't happen. But it is happening. It has happened! With good intentions yesterday, I wrote a rough copy which I had planned to publish yesterday afternoon. But alas, I still could'nt bring myself to complete and found other things to be doing.

My husband is/has flown out to Mackay today for a new job he starts on Monday. He will be working at Peak Downs Mine in Moranbah. With Moranbah being roughly 1800km away from home, it will take the whole day to get there via train, train, plane and coach. He will be tired by the time he arrives.

Two years ago Hubby was working in the Steel Industry here in the Illawarra and was one of 38 employees to lose their jobs when OneSteel closed their Steel Tubing Plant in Kembla Grange. It took Hubby 5 months to gain employment with another company. His work involved visiting industries to pick up their waste products to be recycled correctly. The hours were long with non-paid overtime, the work was very heavy and the company had no plans to buy a forklift or a trolley to help manouvre the +200kg steel barrels of waste. There was no room for improvement or promotion to climb the company ladder. My husband is used to being able to excel and grow in the work he does, and this was not the case. OH&S and WorkCover would have a field day at his previous place of employment.
Knowing he could never be happy there, he began training in his holidays to gain the necessary qualifications to gain employment in the Mining Industry.


Many Illawarra small business's depend on the Steel Industry here in the Illawarra and with the news of BHP closing down, they have had to re-evaluate their job security. You only have to turn on the news to see how tough it is at the moment to gain employment in the Illawarra. Hundreds, if not thousands of people will be looking elsewhere for work, and that often means relocating to another part of the country.

The original plan is to:

• Travel where-ever necessary to gain employment in the Mining Industry
• Once he gains roughly 12 months experience, then he will be able to get work closer to home. (At the moment, the local mines are not hiring people with no experience, so we do what we need to do) 

Hubby was originally supposed to begin work last week, but dates were doubled up, and he isn't able to complete the necessary Sight Induction until this week....so we have been extra busy around here trying to complete other things in that extra week together.  

On top of all that has been going on, my niece (Sh) fell critically ill with pneumonia while recovering from having her tonsils removed. She lives in Victoria and her sister (M) came from Queensland to help with her children and her recovery. Luckily M was there with her to notice her health deteriorating and got her to the Emergency Department with only minutes to spare. You must be very ill to have your clothes cut off you, so the doctors and nurses can work on you. 

I'm pleased to say that Sh is recovering well now from both traumas, but she still has a way to go. While visiting I have also built her a pot garden (pots because she rents) with lots of veg and herbs and flowers. Her back yard is not so empty now, and will look great when the plants begin to grow. I grew most of them from seed here at home and took them with me in the car. 

Here is a photo of the Rosemary I planted at the Bookham toilets on the highway to Victoria. I planted them on the way there, then watered them again on the way home...I also scattered Gazania seeds from Poppy's garden. If you have ever stopped there, you will know that the area needs a bit of colour. 

 Back to my Hubby! This is a whole new adventure for our family. While it isn't our first big change, I'm sure it won't be our last. Plan 'A' involves shifts of "5 on, 5 off". This means he will work 5 days, then have 5 days off, but I really don't expect him back for a few weeks first up, as I know he will take any work he is offered to 'learn the ropes'. He has already been told that he will be offered the chance to train in other areas, so I'm sure he will enjoy any work he gets.

I know the extra income will be a great help with the mortgage and a lot of much needed repairs on the house too. The ideal plan would be to pay off the mortgage sooner, and there's been a lot of talk around here with what to do with the extra income but.......

• I'll still be me! 
• I'll still be doing things from scratch. 
• I will still do all the things I enjoy. 
• I hope to have more time to commit to the Down to Earth Forum and my Blog, which I have been so horribly absent from lately....(Sorry Rhonda and sorry readers) 

There's going to be a lot of changes along the way, 

but I hope you will still follow with me in my/our journey. 

Please be patient with me!

People who have made recent requests, I will get to them shortly.

I haven't forgotten about that giveaway I spoke about recently either....

Here are a few photos which brightened my day a little, 

after saying goodbye to my husband this morning.