Our trip
It’s almost a week since we got back, so I should write about our trip down to my home town. If I were more skilful with words then I could possibly articulate the way I feel about the town I grew up in. As it is, I have so many mixed feelings.
We set off on Thursday morning after a dash to the fluorescent hell to buy Nanna a birthday present and Poppa a belated birthday present. By the time we left it was 1pm – this is after I forgot the camera 20minutes out. I had a little weep driving up the freeway, remembering all the trips I’d made when sorting out my parent’s estate.
Willow and Dexter both slept for most of the way, they even slept through getting petrol at Tailem Bend. Once they woke up though… Willow sang constantly and I had to stop 4 times in 2 hours to feed Dexter. It was difficult because I didn’t really want to stop on the side of the road, but of course as soon as he started crying, all the parking bays seemed to disappear. About 20km from home, I had to pull over and change Dexter’s nappy on the back of the car.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nothing had really changed at Nanna and Poppa’s. They had two sheep in the backyard which was very exciting for Willow. I never did ask why they were there, but it made her happy!
We had an early night on Thursday. Friday morning we took it easy, went down the street to see who we could see. Nanna got to show off her new great grandson to a few people she knows. That’s one of the things I love most about having children – the joy they bring to other people.
Friday afternoon we went to a park and caught up with my aunty J and her four children and my uncle and his girlfriend. It was great to see them all, and they all liked seeing and having a hold of Dexter. My uncle’s girlfriend – feels a bit silly calling her that, they’ve been together for over 10 years – is fantastic with Willow. The whole playground was fenced, so it was nice to not have to worry about Willow for a few minutes.
For dinner we went to catch up with an old school friend of mine. She has two children, a 6 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. Her daughter and Willow clicked straight away and they had lots of squealy, giggling fun together. My friend and her mother and I sat outside with dip and crackers and talked. Her mother went to school with my father, so it is nice to have that connection with her. Before I knew it, it was 10:30pm and we had two nudie rudie girls running around still. By the time I said goodbye it was 11pm. When I got back to Nanna and Poppa’s, she was waiting out the front for me to help me bring the children in.
I had planned to leave on Saturday morning, but my friend’s mother rehabilitates kangaroos and she had a couple of joeys at her house. I knew that Willow would love the chance to hold a kangaroo, so we went out there. As an added bonus, my friend’s sister keeps ferrets, so she got to hold a baby ferret too!
Rather than go home the most direct route, I decided to go along the coast. It would add at least an hour onto the trip, but since I didn’t have another adult in the car to keep me awake, I thought that a change of scenery would be enough to make sure I was concentrating. We stopped at Kingston, the home of the Big Lobster. I wanted to take Willow to the beach, but it was so windy, the sand was stinging our legs. Instead we stopped at the Big Lobster cafe where I had a lobster sandwich – delish – and Willow played on the playground. Then I took the obligatory photo of her in front of the Big Lobster.
From there I drove on, with stops only for nappy changes, breastfeeds or toilet stops. Again, I had to change a big pooey nappy on the side of the road on the back of the car. Probably easier than doing it in some filthy service station toilet. I just wanted to go home, to see A, to sleep in my own bed, to shower in my own bathroom! Driving through the hills I was heading straight into the sun – the glare was so bad at times that I could barely see the road. We got home at about 8pm whereupon A cooked me a nice big steak. Home sweet home.
