Hello to anyone reading my erratic little blog.  For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a lovely day however it was spent.  I think for many of us, the aim is to enjoy some time with our loved ones. 

I worked Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year which was a first for me. I’m now living 1350 km’s away from my family so it was the first time ever I have been away from family.  I exchanged text messages with them all before I headed off to work, not quite the same as phone calls but given we were all getting ready to be somewhere else, it worked for the meantime.

My sons all got together at home for breakfast with their wives, girlfriends and children.  One of my sons managed to get everyone together and take a photo of them all which they then emailed to my work.  It absolutely made my day!!  The seemingly little things can have such a big heartfelt impact.

Work was rather quiet as it turned out, so I managed to have a productive planning day before heading home to enjoy a brief rest then going to a friend’s place for dinner.  Their home was warm and welcoming, with Christmas decorations about, their dog was extremely excited to see me and with some festive food for dinner, it felt a little more like Christmas for me.  She and I later sat in the pool, which was more like a big warm bath, for an hour or so and chatted about anything and everything. 

I came home and was able to speak with one of my sons by phone and another friend called to wish me Merry Christmas, so it rounded out my day nicely.  Even though I physically wasn’t able to be with my loved ones, it still felt like I’d enjoyed their presence during the day.

I felt very blessed as I have two friends who find this time of year difficult due to each losing a child just before Christmas in recent years.  This year in Australia, we also saw a rather horrific lead up to Christmas with a siege in Sydney where two people lost their lives and later the same week, 8 children were murdered by a woman who was mother to 7 and aunt to the 8^th. 

My workplace was very affected by this as one of the children was the niece of a colleague.  Then I had word this morning (Boxing Day here) that another colleague lost her partner to cancer in the very early hours.  It reminds me of how much I have to be truly grateful for and how important it is to appreciate every day.

Of course not all days are going to be good days, but I believe each day we wake up breathing is a new day, a blessing in itself and we have a whole 24 hours in which to find something that makes us smile and feel a sense of gratitude and happiness.  Even if things are not going so well, it may be something simple that we can appreciate. 

I generally tend to be a more positive type of person but there was a time when I didn’t always feel this way.  I eventually came to realise that my happiness was my own responsibility and a choice that I could make every day.  I choose to be happy and have a positive outlook on life. 

I know there is tough stuff, I’ve experienced it and no, it’s certainly not fun.  But when I spend time stuck in that or dwell on it for long periods of time, then I don’t feel good and it can sometimes be hard to move those feelings.

I was recently in New Zealand.  I travelled over alone and had a day or two where I would have loved some company, so was feeling a little flat.  I called my Mum to see how she was going.  My Mum is in the early-mid stages of dementia and is in a nursing home.  During a lucid moment, Mum was asking me about what I’d seen.  She knows how much I love NZ and then she said, next time you go over, can you please take me with you and show me all your favourite places.

This makes my eyes well up even to type it now.  I would so love to be able to do this but both Mum and I know it’s not going to happen as she is not well enough to manage such a trip.  Mum has wanted to go to NZ and England for as long as I can remember, yet here she is in the sunset years of her life with regrets for the things she didn’t find a way to do. 

I have had an awareness for some time now that I need to follow my dreams, do the things I want to do and not be put off because I’m a middle aged single woman, because life is way too short.  This conversation with Mum really struck a chord with me.  I could hear the grief and regret in her voice and I don’t want to get to the end of my life with those types of regrets.  It has made me all the more determined to actively work towards doing the things I want to do and seeing the places I want to see.  To find a way to make them happen.

So that is my little piece of wisdom for what it’s worth today.  Life is not a dress rehearsal, we only get one shot at it, so enjoy it as much as you can.  Soak up all the experiences, the good and the not so good, learn from them, grow from them, make new memories with those you care about, see the things you want to see and experience the things you want to experience. 

And in among all that, I wish you much happiness and joy!

Well I thought I would try and get one more post in for the year!  Hehe.. hmm what can I say? The regular part of blogging hasn't been quite so regular this year.  Perhaps I can use an observation I shared with my work team on a number of occasions in relation to constant changes in our work space and govt policy.... the consistency is there is no consistency (kind of fits for me and blogging this year huh!), things are always changing and we have to adapt with them. Basically hang on for the ride or get left behind. So while I'm on the topic of change, there has been plenty happening in my life since last I wrote.  

Work - big BIG changes!  I came north to Townsville to do a 6 week secondment in a completely new program area.  I'd put in an expression of interest because there was a little uncertainty around a tender outcome for the program I was working in and I thought experience in a different area may be a good thing, should I need to be seeking work elsewhere later down the track.

Long story short, I ended up applying for the permanent role up here after the tender outcome arrived (not a positive outcome) and was successful.  This meant moving 1350 km's north and only having a weekend to find a place to live.  I was lucky enough to find a little granny flat with a wonderful landlady straight away.  I'm still in the process of sorting/packing/moving/winding things up in Brisbane but have until mid April to complete that which has been good.

The new job is essentially a promotion and a totally new program area to learn. It's been a challenging but rewarding space to work in and I will have my work cut out for me for a little while to come. I feel very blessed to have found a role that created a fairly smooth transition for me.

New town - I'm starting to feel a little more settled here and am enjoying the exploring part of being in a new place.  The weather has been quite warm as we head into summer, so that has slowed down the exploring a little, but expect it to ramp up once the cooler weather returns.

Social life - I have a social life!!!  I have enjoyed a couple of trips to the theatre with a friend and her husband who live up here.  Both fun nights out and a nice way to begin in a new town.  My landlady has also taken me along to a quaint little family run cinema which I've since attended again.  It's a great place and far nicer than the bigger cinema's.  I've also just joined a book club that my friend is involved with so will be going along to that in the new year.

Dating - Can you believe it?  I've even done a little dating since I've been up here!  I was set up on a blind date with a young friend's father.  Our first date was to dinner and a Black Sorrows concert.  Since then we've spent a little time together and he's taken me to explore some of the area north of here.  Lovely man and a nice friendship has grown there.

Friends - As I mentioned above, I have a friend here who I worked with in a volunteer organisation for a number of years.  I've been out to dinner with them and to the theatre a couple of times.  I also have a friend living up here that I went to school with interstate.  I hadn't seen her for over 20 yrs and we caught up a couple of months ago.  We haven't yet managed to catch up again, but the plan is there to do so.  I had another friend come visit me from the Calliope area and while he was here, we went across and explored Magnetic Island.  So it's all happening!

Family - I miss them dearly and can't wait to see them again late January. Thank goodness for phone calls, text messages and emails!  Not to mention being able to send photo's by text.  Youngest son is still healing from the accident I'd mentioned in previous posts and is having to look at a career change.  He loved his time in the snow and is hoping to go back for more next year.  

My brother was married for the first time on his 50th birthday and given I now live much closer up here in the tropics, I was able to attend.  I also had the opportunity to catch up with my friend.. the one who was busy trying to set me up with her Dad at the time. I was able to see my Dad and one of my cousins at the wedding which was a lovely small garden affair.  Sadly, Mum's mind is deteriorating a little more but I'm looking forward to seeing her again in January when I go down.

Writing - one thing about moving and wanting to keep in touch with loved ones. It's reminded me of a favourite past time I used to have.. writing letters!!  So I've been doing a little of that since coming up here and am thoroughly enjoying it.  Also have a few ideas floating for other writing projects but need to put those ideas down on paper and get moving on them.

Holidays - I already had plans for annual leave before moving up here and wasn't sure that I'd be able to actually go away anywhere given the unexpected move.  However, it all fell neatly into place and I was able to enjoy a week back in the south island of NZ.  Sadly, I had to cancel the retreat I'd planned to run in NZ for reasons beyond my control.  It was lovely to still be able to go over there though and do a little exploring of area's I hadn't previously seen, along with re-visiting some of my favourite places.  I hope to spend some time living over there in a few years, so will no doubt have a few trips over between now and then.

And I think that's about it for the quick catch up version!  The pic I've added today was taken at Wivenhoe Dam when I took my Brisbane team out on a team building afternoon, not too long before I came up to Townsville. Such a lovely restful place.