Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Terra Firma

Thank goodness my feet a firmly planted on terra firma.

I'm done with flying for a while I think!

I slept very poorly last night.

After the fire brigade arrived at our doorstep with two trucks and sirens sounding, it took a while to settle the nerves and by the time I tidied and cleaned the apartment (to make it look as good as when I entered - as the instruction sheet requested), and by the time I set both of my electronic devices to wake me five minutes apart, I still couldn't seem to settle.

I was so worried that I would sleep through the alarms and miss my flight, that I just couldn't relax!

It was 1.30am when I fell asleep the first time. I woke at 3.30am and my alarms were set for 4.30am and 4.35am, so dozed restlessly for the last hour.

The shuttle was booked for 6am and I had to be waiting on the footpath in front of my building by 5.50am. It didn't arrive until 6.30am.

By the time we picked up other passengers, we didn't get on the road to the airport until quite late. It was raining steadily and the traffic was heavy. The last 7kms took 21 minutes. We were crawling.

Melbourne airport is not as straight forward as every other airport in the land and at first I was a little confused about where to go, but I finally got it sorted and then found myself a morning coffee.

There was nothing gluten free for me to eat at any of the cafes and I hadn't eaten dinner the night before, so I was feeling peckish. The coffee seemed to fill the void and I still had 2 hours until boarding, so I bought myself a magazine and made myself comfortable. This was my view ...


At 8.40am I went to the gate that was printed on my boarding pass, but the TV screen said that it was a Sydney flight boarding there. I went looking for the big screen to discover that I was boarding at gate 5 now and that the flight was delayed by 30 minutes and not boarding until 9.35am.

My flight actually took off at 10.20am.

It was a turbulent flight, like a roller coaster ride and the trolley service was even suspended for 20 minutes because it was too dangerous. I practiced meditation to drown out both the fear and the screaming children. This also made the 2 hours go much faster.

I was very grateful to plant my feet firmly on the ground and even happier that an Uber driver was only two minutes away and was able to drive me directly to Rebel Mardi's and The Lifesaver's home.

And what a beautiful home it is! I love these guys and they made me feel welcome as soon I stepped on their driveway.

Rebel Mardi had to work this afternoon, so I hitched a ride with her, and while she worked, I stepped into the first hair salon that I saw and got my hair washed and blow dried. I hadn't washed it for eleven days!! It really didn't look that bad, but was starting to feel a bit oily on my scalp.

I made up for my lack of shopping in Melbourne, by doing a Boutique crawl in Buderim. Gorgeous little boutiques just waiting for my money. When I was almost broke, I walked to the top of the hill to the tavern and ordered myself a vodka and tonic. A perfectly relaxing way to spend an afternoon!

We came home and made ourselves presentable for dinner at the Creek Tavern. Rebel Mardi and I enjoyed a GF chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto and served on a bed of sweet potato mash with asparagus ...



... The Lifesaver enjoyed a "sensational" Aloha Parmigiana! (sorry, no pics of that one).

Rebel Mardi and I talked and talked and talked and talked and then talked some more, until we were both exhausted and excused ourselves for bed.

Here it is, 11pm and I am in desperate need of sleep!

So ...

Nite all.

No comments: