OrganiSed Chaos » Hope

Peace of mind

anonymum — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:46:33 +0000

This is doubtlessly obscure for many, however, those involved will know, and from where I sit, that’s enough.

For some time life on both work and personal levels has been odd.
It’s not been horrendous, but it’s not been right either.
Disjointed comes immediately to mind if I was to describe the feeling in a single word.
It’s not been just one thing though, it’s more the culmination of several situations, both professionally and personally.
The things I speak of have created uncertainty, dismay, bewilderment, pain and a feeling of helplessness due mainly to them being out of our control, and a dependency on others.
Yes, we’ve had 2 brilliant holidays, our health is good and we’ve had many, many good things happen, but these have always had shadows on them.
While these shadows haven’t tarnished the good things, there has been some looking over our shoulders and wondering where it would all end.
I’m pleased to say, this week much has been resolved on all levels.
On the personal side of the coin, events have not only surprised us, they have also bought a level of contentment, an inner peace, smiles, and tears.
At work, much uncertainty has been removed, many more things are clear in our future and we can see much of what life will have to offer in that regard.
We can now move forward with a purpose in both environments.
Where previously we were struggling to see beyond dark clouds stretching endlessly, now the sky is clear and blue with the promise of only better things to come.
To those who are aware of these things, I know you will be discreet in your comments.
For others, be happy and smile for us?
It’s rare in my life I’ve been free of at least one situation guaranteed to create a dark spot.
As I write today, I can say there’s not one to be seen.
My hope is it will stay that way, but even if it doesn’t, I’ll always be able to look back to today and smile.
Peace of mind is something we all desire, and I have every intention of embracing it while it’s there.
I have high hopes of being able to embrace it for quite some time too.
Can you hear the contented sigh?
I’m thinking you can, because it’s quite emphatic.
I hope your weekend has been as kind to you as mine has to me.
Enjoy what you have left of it as I intend to enjoy mine.

Beacons

anonymum — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:05:08 +0000

Of late my mind is quite strange.
I can hear some people saying this is perfectly normal for me, to them I would say screw you, that’s not what I mean and you know it!

I’m referring not so much to my state of mind, but rather how it’s been going off on it’s own little tangents without any warning.
Today it’s firmly entrenched in what I refer to as life altering times.
Moments of clarity which stay with you forever, and have the ability to change your entire life or the way you think, whether you want to or not.
These are moments that force changes, sometimes good, others not so good.
I’ll admit life is in a constant state of change for most people, and in that respect, I’m no different.
I am grateful that as a person I’m able to adapt to these things.
If we couldn’t adapt, we would drown in life itself I believe.
I’ve had many moments of clarity in my life, and every one of those moments is as clear today as the day they happened, so I thought to share just a few of the most important ones with you.
These are not in chronological order, they’re more in one of impact.
Obviously, the very first thing that comes to mind is the death of my mother.
There are few events in a 13 year old’s life which would have the impact this did.
Her death set off a chain of events that essentially shaped the rest of my life, because I can assure you, as a female, growing from a teenager to an adult without a mother to guide you is at best, difficult.
You have noone to point you in the right direction, nor anyone to advise you what’s right and wrong morally or physically, so the chance of making mistakes is higher than average.
My biggest regret, other than the obvious loss, is doubtlessly missing out on seeing her with my children and in turn, their children.
Enough said on that one I think.
Second in line is another death, that of my grandfather.
Although I only had him for a short time {6 1/2 years} it was long enough to create a bond that has, in my heart, lasted to today, and in fact I can still conjure the feeling of safety he engendered in me.
Yes I’ll freely admit, I miss him badly even though he’s been gone for 46 years {that’s absolutely the little girl talking there isn’t it??}
My father remarrying so early after the death of my mother {6 months later} is once again, an event that helped shape the rest of my life.
I refuse to go into details, suffice to say at {many} times, it’s been a decidedly unpleasant scenario, one which continues even today and still impacts on the relationship I have with my father.
It goes without saying the births of my children were 100% life altering, and again, still effects my life every single day, but in a good way, as I’m sure every parent would agree it does.
As a parent, we see our children as our babies, regardless of age, however, if you seriously want to see them as adults, watch them give birth.
Mark and I were privileged to be present when Zoe was born, and in fact I cut her cord, but I can assure you, it is not something I am in any hurry to repeat!
My pride in seeing how Kelly dealt with childbirth knows no bounds, however it was a moment of clarity like no other.
No more could I ever think of her as a girl.
She was, from that moment forward, without doubt, a woman.
Yes, she is still my little girl in some ways because they always need their mother {as did I many times through my life} but she’s not my little girl any more.
Quite contradictory I know, but truthful all the same.
It was no different other than the geography when Tasha and Melissa became mothers.
No more were they my babies.
With babies of their own, they were no longer apprentice people as I see young adults.
They were fully fledged.
I believe watching our children grow presents most of our life altering times.
It gives us an insight into how our parents felt watching us grow, and it it also gives us a greater appreciation of what our parents did in times which were not easy by today’s standards, and in some cases, the sacrifices they made.
In my adult life, besides the girls becoming mothers, the one thing that stands out head and shoulders above everything else is the day I met Mark.
I can recall every single detail and word from that day almost 16 years ago.
You want to talk about life altering, well let me tell you, I cannot begin to describe the difference it’s made to my life.
The good that has come from not only meeting, but marrying him?
Not possible to list them all here.
He is my sun, moon and stars and I love him beyond reason, no matter what.
Other things that come to mind are far away people I’ve met in recent years.
I credit these people with many positive things in my life as well.
A new way of thinking, seeing and believing are but some of the off shoots, and again, I couldn’t begin to tell you the ways this has shaped my life of late.
There have been more but the ones I have here are the big ones, those which have had the biggest impact.
Feel free to voice some of the beacons in your life, but please don’t feel obligated.
To speak of these things is not easy as I well know, but my mind has been rampant with them lately, and I needed to get them out there in the hope it will silence my mind.
I hope your weekend is treating you as well as mine is being to me.

Stella’s fairy

anonymum — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:21:56 +0000

Little Miss Stella has been in hospital for 10 days, much to everyone’s dismay.
What started as a temperature due to an infection in her knee joint has morphed into 2 operations, an IV for antibiotics, painkillers, regular blood tests, and now, a blood transfusion.
When I’m troubled, worried, or distressed, or if something comes from deep inside me, I use fairies.
This fairy is for a very precious little girl.
We don’t see a lot of Tasha’s 4 children, but we were lucky enough to spend a week with them at Christmas.
Inside 5 minutes this little minx had wrapped us around her little finger.
She is not the apple of her mothers eye.
Oh no!
In her mothers words “She’s the whole bloody tree”
The youngest of 4, and the only girl.
An unexpected little girl in a family of boys, and oh so very, very loved.
This fairy is to keep her safe, help her heal, send her home to her loving parents and brothers, and to put this trying time behind her.
Tash has been beside her every step of the way, and the strength she has shown is nothing less than remarkable, and makes me swell with pride.
To see another of my daughters go through hell with one of their children has me sleepless, restless and decidedly difficult to get along with.
Being so far away is very difficult, and I’ve had to fight the urge to fly down.
With Mel it was different.
I could be there and hold her when she needed to be held, soothe if I could and give her a shoulder to lean on.
Not this time.
Maybe with the posting of Stella’s fairy, sleep will come, fairy dust will surround this precious little girl and hopefully some magic will help her, and her mother, along?
I pray it does.

If that’s Christmas, we’ve had it

anonymum — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:07:36 +0000

So Christmas 2009 is done and dusted.
We had a good one.
Went and did Santa with the part of the family we weren’t spending it with before we left, and made 2 children very, very happy, plus delivered a very special teddy bear, to a very special little boy, from some very special friends.
On the plane the next day to see those we see far too little of in normal times.
Santa came to Mark and I throughout the year, so we didn’t do the present thing for each other.
Between a trip to America {which included a Christmas in July}, a new laptop and flights down south we figured we were out close to 20k, so we decided being together with family was enough for us this year.
Given we’re also going back to America this coming July as well, we thought that would add to the booty we already have/had!
Sounded like a plan to us anyway.

We will hold in our memories and hearts both the brilliant time we had in July and the wonderful time we had watching 5 of our 8 grandchildren rip open their presents on Christmas morning, and the priceless gift of being grandparents to those same 5, who we don’t get to spoil very often, and then of course there was a madcap Skype call!!

It was fabulous to see my Dad too.
I’ve not seen him in close to 3 years, so as you can well imagine I enjoyed the few short hours we had.
With Christmas out of the way, my mind turns to the New Year, and what awaits us.
First and foremost, for me anyway, will be a new blog name and tagline, plus a new theme to play with.
That will happen at midnight on December 31st.
The New year for me heralds a new beginning and a whole year to enjoy life and whatever it has to offer as I thank the stars I’m alive with a wonderful husband and family to share it with.
Work holds much before the end of February with 3 stock takes to be done, and all that after end of half year.
Hmmm. Thinking about it that way makes me wonder if I need to add another vitamin to my morning collection??
Could be an idea.
Before the end of December we have little miss Zoe’s birthday {tomorrow actually} Caleb is in early January, as is Isaac, and it also sees a good friend have a birthday, so I’m sure there will be some mayhem to create there!

February will see Mark and blondies birthday {on the same day} Wil’s, March has us into Sarah, Stella, Kelly’s and Steve’s birthday, April will bring Melissa’s, May is mine, our anniversary and Mother’s day all within a week of each other.
Mid June sees Lucas turn 1, then on top of that I’ll have end of financial year at the end of June, then we’ll be on the plane to Boston in mid July, so before we know it half the year will be gone again!
Scares the bejesus out of me when I think about it that way, but that’s life I guess?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
Time is a predator.
It waits for nothing and noone.
It stalks us until it decides there is none left for us, one by one.
Other than the new blog name, I don’t think there will be another post before the new year, so I will take the opportunity to wish everyone the best for 2010, and I hope all your dreams come true.
I’ll try to do the rounds before then, however make no promises other than I will do my best.
I hope your Christmas was everything you wished for, and that Santa was good to you with nothing less than you all deserved.

Welcome Home

michaelm — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:15:07 +0000

Wanted to welcome the two of you home.
I’m hoping that Christmas was fabulous for the both of you and all the family.
We so enjoyed the Skype call on Christmas Eve!
Crazy though, huh?

Miss you both and praying you make it home safe.
*Moe, your plugins are up to date as is the new 2.9 version of WordPress.
Didn’t want you working too hard when you came home.
btw- check your plugins. I uploaded a little surprise for you.
If I had admin on Oz, I would have done the same.
Malarky Monday can wait until next week!
Welcome home, folks, welcome home . . .
Later gators

A little song while you’re unpacking

What a little trooper!

anonymum — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:41:38 +0000

How good is this baby?
Major surgery on Monday, home Friday afternoon.
Damn we breed ‘em tough don’t we????
Mark has decided he’s a future flanker for the Wallabies.
{Why does that not shock me??}
Lucas was discharged today, much to Mel and Steve’s delight, and they were going to surprise the other kids when they picked them up from school too.

The whole family thank you all for the emails, texts and messages of support.
It’s been fabulous!
For your viewing pleasure, here’s a pic of the little tough nut while he was in hospital.

Have a great weekend, and keep your eyes peeled for some fun with myself and a few others on Monday.
We can all do with a laugh on Mondays, so we’ll do our best to give you one.

Welcome Home

michaelm — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:39:40 +0000

Miss you guys already.
Glad you’re finally DownUnder . . .
Just dipped my finger into the Vegemite jar you so graciously left behind.
YumYum, Pigs Bum . . .
Welcome home.
{{{hugs}}}
~m & p

We have a new baby boy, AND a result

anonymum — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:50:06 +0000

We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of Lucas John, born Monday June 15th @ 2.21pm, weighing in at 7lb 7ozs.
Mum and baby are both well, Dad is strutting around like he invented fatherhood, Poppy is back slapping and Nannys nerves are shot.
Hey! Gimme a break here.
That this is number 9 doesn’t make any difference, so before you say it, I can assure you it does NOT get any easier as time goes by.
That’s my baby giving birth dammit!
{No, that’s not him in the pic. He’s a lot cuter than that thank you very much!!}

Now, onto other news.
Polling has closed and we have a winner!!
Damn it was close, but there can only be one as we all know, and the one is………
***drum roll***
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Annie!
The voting was so close I had to wait for votes to come to a result, and there was only one vote in it at the end.
Everybody did very well as we all know, but as I said, there can only be one writer for the final chapter, and Annie was the one.
I actually have the final chapter, and tomorrow night it will be posted, so make sure you check back for the gripping conclusion to Fried Green Bloggers at the Twitter Cafe.
Before someone says it, yes, I know there is not one thing in there about bloggers or Twitter, but I love the way it rolls off the tongue!

So, until tomorrow night, be good.
If you can’t be good, make sure you’re good at being bad!

A baby is due, and voting is happening

anonymum — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:09:16 +0000

Just a quick post with a couple of little things you need to know about.
The votes are coming in, and with only 2 people still to cast theirs, it close.
I mean, CLOSE!
There is very little in it and could go any way at this stage.
No, I will not say who voted for who, suffice to say it’s been interesting reading the emails that have come in.
I’ve been and visited the 2 people left to vote because I NEED them before I can let the person know for sure.
One vote for any of them could swing it, that’s how close it is.
Emails have been sent to the people in the running just to give them a heads up so they have time to gather their thoughts should they need them.
As soon as I know, and I’ve let the person involved know, then I’ll let everyone else know through a post.
On another note, tomorrow is quite the day in our household.
At around 1.30 tomorrow we’ll have another grandson.
Mel and Steve have let everyone know what they’re having and tomorrow is the day we’ve been waiting for since it was scheduled.
Send some prayers to whoever you worship for me, if you would be so kind?
She’s had some problems, and one or 2 may continue after the birth, so I’ve got fingers, noses and toeses crossed.
I’ll be at the hospital by the time they’ve got him out, cos that’s what Mums do isn’t it?
In fact wild horses couldn’t keep me away!
As you go about your day tomorrow, spare Melissa a thought if you could.
I know I would appreciate it, and have no doubt Mel will as well.
I hope your weekend has treated you kindly. I know mine has.
And with the promise of another munchkin joining our family tomorrow, I’m sure the week will be just as good.

From the flames comes life and love

anonymum — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:52:16 +0000

The recent bushfires here in Australia have had a profound effect on me.
The carnage has opened many doors in my head that have been closed for years. Doors that took a long time to close in the first place, and much self control to keep that way, for many reasons.
It’s something I rarely speak about at all, let alone publicly, and yet I put it on my blog?
Go figure!
The past week has seen me not sleeping well, quite restless and very emotional.
The loss of life, human and wildlife, property and just the sheer magnitude of the event have all conspired to make me feel like I’m some sort of unhinged basket case.
I sit here watching the TV with slient tears running down my cheeks, trying to make sense of why.
It’s almost too much to take in if that makes sense?
People have died, others have lost everything they own and are having to rebuild lives they’ve already spent the best part of a life time on, having to start again with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs.
So much to take in and process.
So damned hard to comprehend.
There have been some amazing stories come from this event. Tales of survival, others of heroic deeds, people helping others while their own homes burn. There are dozens of them all over the news.
As to our fire fighters, paid and volunteer, well, they just defy description.
True heroes in a world where the word hero is bandied about as if it’s some sort of trophy.
It’s people such as these that word hero was made for.
So…
As those of you who have Gmail would know, in the bar above your inbox, there is a rotating news line. It shows you sponsored links to stories all over the world. I rarely click these links, more because I have just about every news service available coming into my reader, however…
While checking my email last night, I saw this link and it took my eye because it was about the bushfires.
Within this article there is a video link which I’ve posted here for you.

I know there are probably more moving articles, or even videos, that relate to people as opposed to animals, but I’m a bit of an animal lover, and many people don’t think about the poor creatures killed or left behind in agony, to die a long, painful death. People are blogging about the human toll all over the net, so me, being me, thought I would be different.
This is a wonderful feel good story and video.
It made me smile, and also made me realise that from every natural disaster, there always comes hope, be it big or small, and that’s a good thing.
For without hope, we are lost, surely?