Not another COVID19 Post!

You are right … it isn’t!

A wise woman once said – “Life can spin on a dime”. My personal saying for years has been – “You never know when that big white bus is going to come around the corner” (reference to the van and my Mother in February 2009 – it’s in my Book xx).

I am finding it so interesting how life as we have sort of known it (well let’s face it…no one can ever say ‘this is how we know life to be’ – we are all different after all) is really spitting out daily disruptions and challenges of the life never seen before (well again, not in our lifetimes I guess).

I have been thinking about this for months actually and wondering ‘what happened to the ‘good old days’ … the carefree, always know what is going to happen tomorrow days’? My personal reference on that takes me back to my childhood. I remember almost everything in that 1st decade … the good and the bad. I like to dwell on the good because, when I share it with others it often ‘triggers’ the good memories for them too.

Days like the last day of the school year … getting up early and making sure that the Christmas Present I had bought with my pocket money that I had saved up during the year, was in my school bag. Getting dressed in a ‘special party dress’ to celebrate with the other kids. Getting into class and enjoying the laughter and the excitement that we were all sharing about the coming school holidays … what we were going to do, where we were going etc. Having teacher come in and ready us for school assembly. Lining up in file and taking our places in the sun on the benches set out in the school yard. Looking sideways to see the parents and friends all seated ready for the Year Awards Ceremony. Excitedly joining everyone back in class as we handed out our Presents to our teacher and then going into the school shed for the party food and fun to end the year!

Then there were the times when the familiar ‘bells’ from the Bakery Van and the Fruit & Vegetable Van would ring to announce to our street that we were next! Calling out to Mum to hurry so I didn’t miss out on my favourite fruit loaf and joining the other kids and Mums in the street as careful selections of produce were made.

Putting out the Milk cradle at night with the empty bottles and money and racing out in the morning to bring the fresh milk bottles to put in the fridge (and often squirrel away the change for the ‘chore’ completed ha-ha!)

Planning the Sunday trip to the State Library in the City once a month to return well read books and spend time wandering through aisles of books and magazines drilling down to the agreed 4 books only rule with my Mum. These trips were also so much fun because we actually incorporated a bus trip with it which I so enjoyed … seeing other people and experiencing the views along the way. Each trip always ended with a special tea at home topped off with my favourite Golden Syrup Dumplings.

Yes, the good ol’ days … when everything was lived in the moment. When each day held the promise of ‘something’ and at the end of each day … The wander of what was to come.

Somewhere along the way the ‘living in the moment’ became a slight blur and ‘adulting’ began.

In these days of disruption, challenge and uncertainty I am finding that finding the balance and regaining the ‘wonder years’ is a great place to go.

A gorgeous friend of mine reminded me that ‘this too shall pass’ and that whilst it is also somewhat scary with the unknown, it is also bringing community back together. Societies are changing and learning and growing and the future – well I suspect that we may just strengthen the ‘wonder years’ and remember what really matters in life … don’t you?