It had been a busy week, with a Steer 60th anniversary kicking it all off on Monday night. It went on for just over an hour and when it was over, it was almost 9pm. It had also been a busy work day so there wasn’t much room for a Monday Blue kind of start to the week. We also caught up in the St Alf’s small group over dinner on Thursday. LB, who was also the Youth Minister, had resigned to join the Navy as a Chaplain so that was the small group farewell thing for her. Tress and I had brought a long a fried rice to accompany the roast dinner that Ros and Mike had prepared as hosts. It was a wonderful small group event.
We had also teed up a dinner on Friday night with Ing Tung and Chin Moi so as we worked through Friday to plumb worrying depths in the body battery department. I decided to knock off early and from about 4.30pm, I joined Tress at the oval to walk the little one.
A little after 5pm, we got a ping from Kiddo asking if we were still working. I said we were at the oval but could talk on the mobile. We did a video call there in the oval.
We often remember the moment we took a call that would pivot our lives – or at least our thoughts and emotions – and send it on a different trajectory. I later said I was glad that call happened on a Friday arvo (TGIF!) as it gave us the whole weekend to process what it will all mean. I haven’t felt so excited and hopeful for a very long time. And happy. Not for us, but for Kiddo and Mic.
We went through the rest of the weekend in a bit of a frenzied but clear minded surge. We spent a wonderful evening with Ing Tung and Chin Moi over dinner at the Flavours of Mekong, then went home to watch a very exciting Fremantle v Richmond game. The Tigers botched two marks in the final 2 mins. The first went past the 30 second kick time and the other – a mark on the siren – had the young player inexplicably playing on. Either would have won them the game to break the 52-52 scoreline.
On Saturday it rained the whole day so we stayed home. I did some vacuuming, Tress cleaned the toilets and we then went out for lunch and did the groceries. I found a dry window to quickly walk the little fellow and later, cooked the doggies’ dinners. All the while, I had listened in on the Hawks’ decimation of the Kangaroos. Listening to Jack Gunston kick 5 goals the week after returning from his father’s passing, was something else. All those activities on a drab and grey day however, were like blurred background against thoughts and visions of what the future holds – for Kiddo and Mic, and to some extent, for Tress and I too. I haven’t felt so excited and hopeful for a very long time.
On Sunday at St Alf’s we had Tony Rinaudo speak of his work – we (especially Tress) have been deep admirers of Tony’s work in forest regeneration and what that brings to farmers and the environment. We’re certainly not alone, including a guy we stumbled across when we went to a dog park in Ringwood North to check out a relatively new facility the council there had built. That guy was the head of the department Tony worked in and had wanted to invite Tony to speak in his church. We spoke about Tony’s work and about the dog park. Later, we came home and I busied myself in washing and cleaning the Lexus and swapping it with the Mazda for the next few weeks. I also refueled both cars as petrol prices had abated from the recent high prices. Later, I cooked the week’s dishes before again joining Tress at the oval where she had started walking the little guy. It had been a warmer and very sunny day so it was great to just stroll around in the oval, having done all of the chores we had wanted to do over the weekend. Even so, the brighter day and sense of rest were again, like blurred background against thoughts and visions of what the future holds – for Kiddo and Mic, and to some extent, for Tress and I too. I haven’t felt so excited and hopeful for a very long time.
Ante 