It has been a lovely journey back to my childhood home for a short visit. I wanted to bring the children back here before we move to our new special home across the sea. I also wanted to spend some precious time with my grandmother.
I packed up the children and my father-in-law for our road trip. Who better to step in, in lieu of my husband, than his beloved father. I felt very happy I got us out of the house at a reasonable time in the morning and didn’t feel at all panicked by that odd feeling I get when I know I have forgotten something but can never remember what it is until I’m half way down the road.
We stopped on our way out of the city to say hi to SB and get last minute kisses. Then we were off. A good five hours later we were here in my seaside town.
On arrival the children were so excited, it was delightful. Little feet running around the house and garden revisiting memories from visits past. Rapid words firing out of little rosy mouths. The apricot tree, the skylight you can see the sun through. The birds in the garden and the piano. They are all still there, where they belong.
After unpacking it was off to one of the many beaches that surround our town. Emu Point is a wonderful children’s beach. It is a protected inn so the water is flat, shallow and provides a safe place for children to run wild, splashing, swimming, exploring. It is where I learnt to swim. There is something kind of wonderful standing with my feet in the water remembering being a child playing in the same way as my own children now do. Our new family tradition is having fish and chips down there for dinner.
Moments in time
We came home tired, into the warm bath for the children and a hearty dinner. I heard my phone ring and my heart skipped a beat, it was my SB calling. I answered immediately and thanked him for chasing up some details regarding a new phone, cable TV and the like in our new home. After I stopped to draw breath SB quietly said ‘that’s ok, um did you leave a key out for me?’ Sorry, what was that? You see, SB doesn’t always carry a house key on his key ring. I have my routines and when I go away I always lock the garage door into the house. Always. Today was no exception. I went through the mental process I follow and the last thing I do is lock the door….uh oh.
‘Don’t worry, we will sort it’ I say with calm. I asked him to look on his phone for our Property Manager’s number while I searched here. She has a spare key. I could not find the number so I called the carpet cleaner who had been at the house this morning. He was at sports practice with his son. He raced to his car, found the number and a second number, then called me back with the news. Phew, we are saved! I called our Property Manager immediately. She was laughing hysterically. SB had just been on the phone to her, he had already found her number. As she was getting ready to meet him at the office to give him our door key he called back – he’d had a MacGyver moment! He said. He was in!
Immediately I call home and SB casually answers. Feeling very proud of himself – as he should, he retold his story of courage and survival. He was trying to open the back door again, hoping it would magically unlock when the cat walked past. Realising the only way in was through the cat door, he pondered what he had that he could use to help him get in through the little door. Remembering the roll of reticulation pipe sitting on the garage floor he raced in, found his knife and cut a length – the perfect length. Taking deep breaths he approached the cat door with trepidation, hoping with all his might that this would work. He reached in through the cat door, pushing the pipe up towards the door lock and pushed. He heard a ‘click’ and thought ‘nah, there is no way that could unlock the first time’. With trepidation he tried to open the door…..it opened. He was in. He was saved. My hero.
What’s the lesson here… Meh…I’m back to enjoying my break.
Coffee & WiFi
