On New Years Eve I had a quiet word to myself about the things I wanted to change in 2009. One of the things I promised myself was that I would update Maddie's blog more regularly. Even though it often feels like the things I write about are insignificant or unimportant, when I take the time to read old entries it reminds me of exactly how I felt, but more importantly it is a great record for Mads. One day, I hope that she will enjoy reading her mothers mad ramblings and learning about the first few years of her life.
Anyway, here I am at 10:30pm on Jan 27th and this is the first chance I have had to sit down and throw a few thoughts together. I never have been very good at keeping my news years resolutions!
So.... Christmas... The magic was officially back! Maddie was quite simply beside herself with excitement about the whole affair. From visiting all her much loved relatives, to understanding the concept of Father Christmas to singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus around the lunch table at the Smyth family residence - Louisa St! Trying to convince a 2 year old that Christmas is about giving as well as receiving was a bit of a challenge, but I'm sure she will get the gist as she gets a bit older.
Our visit to Adelaide was a whirlwind of love, cuddles, food, drinks, celebrations, tears and wonderful times. We treasured every minute spending time with our loved ones and as usual, it broke my heart to say goodbye.
New Year was spent with a fabulous group of friends up on the Central Coast. 1 giant house, 10 adults, 8 kids, a week of relaxing by the pool, playing tennis, cooking for each other, going to the beach, drinking lovely wine and generally chilling out was just what the doctor ordered. Maddie had an absolute blast hanging out with all the other kids and she is starting to gain a bit more confidence in the pool / ocean which is a big breakthrough.
We had a wonderful catch up with Howie and Barney when we got back to Sydney in the New Year. They both looked fabulous and were full of the joys of life. They were quite taken with Sydney and were even talking about heading home. The way they talked about London (freezing winter, credit crunch, doom and gloom) made me realise that perhaps I have been romanticising my view of the dark old girl and for the first time I thought "maybe it's time to get over ourselves, stop missing London and make the most of living in the GORGEOUS city of Sydney". Barney's parents had us over to their house at Clontarf and as I sat on their gorgeous balcony overlooking the Spit Bridge I was reminded of just how spectacular Sydney is. Since that day, Simes and I have been taking Maddie to the beach more and particularly exploring the beautiful Northern Beaches. As they say, it really is God's Country!
Mads is becoming more and more of a little lady every day. In many ways our little baby has gone and she has been replaced by a sophisticated little 2 year old minx. We have the most wonderful conversations with her now and on some occasions we can even reason with her! She likes to take on the role of mother and often asks Simes and I 'are you ok?' or 'is everything all right?'. She doesn't miss a trick and remembers the name of everyone she meets. If she ever does get stuck, she just refers to people as 'that little girl' or 'that little boy' (regardless of their age!). She literally radiates joy and I can't get enough of her. Being around her just makes me happy. I love waking up in the morning and seeing her little face either sleeping in like a uni student, or standing right by our bed asking for 'a quick little morning cuddle'. The thing I am most excited about is the fact that she has great comic timing. Life seems to be a little easier when you have a sense of humour and our Mads certainly has one of those!
I have started 2009 with a happy heart and great hope for the future. The fact the 44th President of the United States is an African American makes me smile from ear to ear. Bloody fantastic! I am thrilled that Maddie and her generation will grow up thinking that there is nothing unusual about that. Just as it should be.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama
No comments:
Post a Comment