General News
24 January, 2025
A Mum's World: Making the most of a family holiday before we 'loop the loop'
Yolande's family soak up family holiday before returning home.
Last week, only a few short hours down the road from my inland haven, I found a whole lot of surf, sand and seawater.
I can't believe it was there all year round just waiting for me to come and visit as it was twinkling away in the moonlight at night and radiating a captivating turquoise colour during the day.
Also waiting were the antique shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants.
Thank goodness every hardworking teenager in Australia was on the job waiting tables and making change, so my own 18-year-old and I could play ladies and lap it all up for our last few days together, before she headed off to begin her training in earnest.
With the luxury behind us, we joined her Daddy and two big sisters to reacquaint ourselves with the fun of five family members staying in the caravan together with bunk beds and only one mirror.
For the first time ever, whilst utilising the shower block, I was glad to find that my gigantic elastic underpants provided enough acreage to be a nice bathmat in the cubicle whilst juggling the drying off and dressing process.
In the caravan and annex, we all niggled each other, pressed buttons and poked sore spots.
Hearts were broken, phases of depression flowed, sharp words were spoken, Daddy ghosted us, and we all tossed and turned but emerged still related, as much a family unit as ever.
Thank goodness we could unite around the Australian Open tennis on the telly.
Advising the unfeeling TV screen on technique modification seemed much kinder than the real life advising of siblings on how every aspect of their behaviour should be improved.
Naturally, I turned to food for comfort, so my emotional eating ensured that our family cohesion was not the only thing that went 'pear-shaped' - hello curves!
Pear-shaped is apparently a term that was first coined in the Royal Air Force when pilots
failed to complete a nice rounded 'loop the loop'.
And just because it's time and I'm married to a RAAF veteran who is headed for an exciting change, my husband and I will 'loop the loop' this week as we circle back around to living as a couple at home with no children in the house.
Gulp.