I’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day at altitude this year.
Across oceans and timezones as I make my way to Orlando via Dallas Fort Worth for my first work trip Post Baby. Beneath the ‘glamour’ of work related travel, the fact remains that international trips represent hours of flying followed by hours in transit at club lounges followed by more flying and then waiting for cars and bags. The days at your destination are then tightly scheduled and based in hotel rooms that don’t have toddler friendly in their design brief.
As much as my heart says that scheduling in a day to take Toddler SSG to Disney World would be a once in a lifetime, funnest mother and son moment ever, my mind said no. Too many accidents waiting to happen, too much travel, too much stress, too short an attention span … and do they even have In the Night Garden on US television?
So Toddler SSG is currently kicking up his heels in Perth.
In between sessions landscaping the garden, he’s also project managing the renovations at his grandparents’ house. His management style is to lead by example. Each time the builders open a door to enter a new work area, he’s right behind them shutting the door just so. He communicates with his team through the windows – they pull faces and joke around outside while he presses up against the windows laughing with them from inside. Between them, the work gets done. In between coffee and ciggie / cheese and milk breaks (depending on your age), that is.
I popped my card to Mum in the post earlier this week. In complete ignorance that the cost of a stamp has risen twice since I bought the 60 cent stamps currently in my purse. I wonder if Australia Post will have it in their hearts to have an amnesty on under stamped Mother’s Day cards this year and still deliver them? Here’s hoping.
As lots of people at ground level gets ready for Mother’s Day lunch, I’ll be here in the air joining those who’ll be marking the day with hopes, thoughts and memories.
It’s one of the ironies of my life that I’ve come to need my mum in my life more now than I did when I was younger. As she guided me through those horrible teenage cow years with wisdom, faith and strength I eventually realised that I needed her influence more than I ever cared to admit. Even now, when I’d thought I’d become the best result of how she’d raised me, I’m still a work in progress. Still in need of her calming, positive influence.
There are three cups of tea in this photo because there’s another woman whom I consider my ‘second mum’ as – my Aunty, mum’s sister. The two ladies were recently over for a stay at SSG Manor. The fun we had over those mismatched mugs of tea.
Half the time our cuppas would get cold before we’d even had a chance to sip them. Toddler SSG would need to be rescued from himself, my Aunty would begin a lively debate on the latest news from the SMH or the current affairs as featured in Who Weekly or else my mum would suddenly be struck with a new idea for how we could toddler proof whatever it was that Toddler SSG needed rescuing from.
And when we weren’t chatting, we swapped healthy living tips. I put my Aunty onto Aldi’s brown rice cups which she rates highly because the grains aren’t as hard as some of the competitor’s products. To tide her over until Aldi finally opens in Perth, my Aunty added a few packs of rice to her suitcase. Next to her beloved bottle of Chanel 5.
My mum couldn’t get any of us to embrace oat milk with our cups of tea. But she too gives Aldi’s brown rice cups two thumbs up. At $1.98 for 2 serves, they’re a great buy so stock up on your next Aldi run.
It’s a testament to the horsepower behind Parlux that not one of us had bad hair day amongst us despite having to share that one pink hairdryer between three.
Needless to say, Toddler SSG loved having his grandma and his favourite grand aunt over. He was the alarm clock they thought they’d left behind in Perth. He had a cheer squad at swimming and a captive audience for his dancing. At 5pm each night, they’d sit together to watch Deal Or No Deal, a bit of the news and then over to ABC2 for the Giggle and Hoot Goodnight Hour.
There were treats at lunch time.
Fish fingers and pommes noisettes when my Aunty was in charge.
And French fries from Maccas when mum was shouting everyone lunch. Each individually blotted of any excess oil with a serviette, of course.
Filled with memories or memories being made, however you’re spending Mother’s Day this year, may it be a happy one for you.
