The First of The First

Hi Readers,

Another week, another post!

This will be rather short, but then I often say that then tend to bang on so much it turns into yet another lengthy monologue!

The title of this post came to me this morning as I realised I was experiencing many things for the first time. At my age one tends to think that I have experienced most things that will come my way, but life always throws in some curve balls.

First of all, after dodging it for 5 years, I finally got caught by the dreaded Covid virus for the first time.

 I'd been in Melbourne for a few days last week, and during the night on Saturday night I just started to feel disgusting, and not in a way that I'd felt before.

By Sunday morning I felt like I had the worst hangover with a few other hangovers thrown in as well, so I took whatever pills I could find in the medicine cupboard and collapsed on the couch for a while.

Things didn't improve all day, so on a whim I decided to do a Covid test. As I'd managed to avoid it for so long I thought I was pretty safe, but how wrong was I!

The first test brought up the dreaded double lines, and so did the second one as I din't want to believe the first test. 

I even checked to ensure that it wasn't a pregnancy test!!

The next few hours were a bit of chaos and questions.

Would I get sicker?

Is this as bad as it gets?

Will I have enough food?

Did I spread it to anyone who I've been in contact with recently?

Will I have enough toilet paper??

I don't want to sound like I'm the only person to have caught Covid, because I was taking great pride in the fact that I'd avoided it for so long. When Jen was sick I had to be so meticulous with my sanitising and Covid avoiding behaviours, so catching it now has made me feel so angry, even though I can't fully control it. Who knows, I might catch it again in a fortnight. I hope not. While I don't mask up in the shops, I do use the sanitiser and this still gets funny looks from other shoppers. 

I get particularly annoyed at the supermarkets where they supply sanitiser at the entrance, but the bottle is usually empty or broken. Their token gesture makes me so angry.

So that has been a first for me, one that I had always been trying to avoid, but achieved nonetheless.

If anything, it hasn't been the illness that has annoyed me most, it is what it has stopped me from doing.

First of all, I had my motorbike booked in for a service today, and as I had to wait a long time to get this date, I then had to ring and cancel, fearing that I'd have to wait another five or more weeks for the next available slot. To my surprise they booked me in next week. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Last week my caravan went in for its first service, something that was booked in for months in advance as they are "just so busy"

After 3 days I still hadn't heard from them so rang to see if it was ready, as the Long Weekend was coming up and it would be nice to duck away somewhere (not that long weekends mean much to me now!!)

"We haven't started it yet mate"

Great.

So I made different plans, expecting a call today, but still nothing yet.

The "blessing" from Covid has so far kept me off my motorbike, out of my caravan (even if I did have it back) and now the worst of all...

I can't exercise!!

I know, that sounds ridiculous, but those who know me would know that I can't get through a day without doing at least SOMETHING!!!

I'm very conscious of the strain one puts on the body when exercising when unwell, and as I'm at the age where this can be exacerbated, I didn't want to make things worse. But even as I write this, in a way I'm not believing what I'm saying as I just have this burning desire to something at least, but I'll do my best to just cool my jets.

And another first.

Today all the schools went back, and the kids all start in the coming days as well.

For the first time in 39 years I'm not going back to school, and it is an incredibly strange feeling. I know I've been preparing for this day for 6 months or more, but until the day actually arrives the full reality hasn't hit home.

I still actually feel that I should be at school.

But I then snap myself back into reality, because even though I know that I can still do the task, my mind wouldn't be in it to the degree I'd expect from myself, and that would not be fair to anyone, especially the kids. I'm assuming this will take some time to get accustomed to, but it's not a big deal at all. Many people go to jobs they hate because they have to, whereas I got the chance to decide. I'm lucky.

Then just a few hours ago I jumped in the car and went for a drive ( not once did I get out!!) as I was going insane from sitting inside for 3 days.

It then hit me.

When I was working, but had a day off, those days felt so special. Or holidays, they felt so special because they were days when I'd normally be at work. They were the alternative to the work days.

Today is the first day when I'd normally be at work, but aren't, as you all know why.

But it doesn't feel like a special day, as I'm not missing out on doing something else. 

These are my days from now on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but my first day of 'not working' doesn't give me the same feeling as missing a day of work.

I'm finding this so hard to put into words, but I hope you can sort of get where I'm coming from.

I imagine that i did go back to work, then these days are what I'd be missing!!

These are my days from now on, and this is a first for me, where I decide what I'm going to do, where I'm going to go etc. I'm not tied down by the restrictions of employment, and although I've been preparing for these days for some time now, until that day comes the reality just isn't there.

Well that's what it has been like for me.

As I spend these days in isolation (another first) I'm getting so much done organising future plans and looking at going to places I've never been. We travelled to so many places that I'd love to see again, but that is always at the expense of seeing somewhere new, so that's what I'm going to do.

These places will be as different and as far apart as New York, Poland, North Queensland and maybe even the nearby Bridgewater Caravan Park!!

In the meantime I'll just get over this bloody Covid and hope that this first is also a last.

Any other firsts that are coming my way I hope will be ones that just bring joy and excitement as I move into the next chapter of my life.

Until my next post,

Cheers 😁🥂

 The Best Day of My Life?

Hi Readers,

Another few days and he's belting out another post. It seems like it's either feast or famine with my posts, I punch a post out and think I'm going to be Mr Regular, and then nothing happens for a few months. Then I whip a few out in quick succession. However, I have no excuse from now on as I just don't have the competition from trying to get school work done.

Speaking of which, school holidays finish in about a week and it's only now that I'm actually starting to realise that I am really retired. There is still that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I should be doing school preparation, especially when I see all the 'Back To School' stuff in the shops and on tv. I suppose the habits of 38 years are hard to shake!

Now to the topic of this post. 

I was out on the bike this week and listening to a podcast. They were talking about the good things that had happened in their lives, when one speaker asked the other "What has been the best day in your life?"

The other person gave a bit of an answer, then the person who asked the question did likewise.

This question really got me thinking, as whenever I thought I had the answer, another moment would come to mind that was just as good. I was finding it incredibly hard to prioritise one over the other, and some of you might already be thinking "How could you not see..................... (an example you may be thinking of)...... that as the best day of your life?"

So Readers, stay with me and I'll try and explain why I found it so hard to pinpoint one particular moment, but I think I may have found THAT moment on THAT day.

Often we will hear people say that the best day of their life was when their first child was born. I was in that boat as well until we found that we were going to have another child. The day of that birth was just as good as our first son being born. Then a few years later came number three and, you guessed it, this day was just as good as the other two. There is no way that I can seperate the joy experienced on each day, as I was just as happy when each son was born.

I'm sure that each of the boys might try to convince me otherwise, but to just have 3 healthy additions to our family was something to behold, and I just can't rank them.

For sure though, as a collective, if I could wrap these three days into one you'd have my answer there. After watching what Jen went through on each day, I'm not sure that each of those days were the best of her life, but I'd say that the outcomes would be the the best she experienced. Easily our greatest achievement in our lives ♥️♥️♥️

So what other big days were there?

Our Wedding Day? By far the one event that resulted in the beginning of the best years of my life, but in a way it did not feel like a great day at the time.

Why?

Picture this. It's an hour before the wedding and I'm stressing about remembering my vows that I'd need to say during the ceremony. Jen insisted that I was to have them perfectly memorised, which I assured her would be done. Trouble was, I left it to the last minute, so here I am in the pool with a bit of paper frantically trying to learn them. It didn't help that some mates who were staying at the motel with me had just cracked their first beers and were doing their best to distract me. There were lots of other organisational things that I needed to get done, all which contributed to making it a somewhat stressful day for me.

Well Readers, you'll be pleased to know that the rings did not get lost and the vows came out perfectly.

But there was one more thing that was really bugging me, and it wasn't happening for a few hours yet. It would just continue to gnaw at me, something I was dreading not for what it was, but how I'd look doing it.

The Bridal Waltz 😫

When I dance I am Captain Uncoordinated, totally unable to match any moves with beat, rhythm or music. If anything, I look like someone trying to change the wheel on a car that is still moving!!

Anyway, Jen, in her wisdom realised this well in advance, and a few days before the wedding. organised a practice session with a dance instructor.

In the words of Julia Roberts in the movie "Pretty Woman"...BIG MISTAKE!!!

This lady kept telling me "Just keep counting to 4", to which I'd reply "How is that going to make my feet go where they are meant to go??!!"

After an hour or so of me swearing under my breath ( and out loud at times) counting to four, standing on Jen's toes and basically getting nowhere, the instructor calmly tapped us on the shoulder and said "Good luck on Saturday". Even she gave up on me.

So for the next few days I had this simmering volcano inside bubbling away telling me how bad I was going to look during the Bridal Waltz.

To add to my frustrations, for the week leading up to the wedding I had a throat infection which meant I could hardly eat or drink, adding to my annoyance.

Fast forward a few days, I've nailed the vows, got the speech done no worries and cut the cake.

Now I hear the music starting and all thoughts of "Perhaps they've forgotten about the Waltz?" soon flew out the window.

I still vividly remember standing in the middle of the dance floor looking like a hot dog on a skewer as I was so bolt upright. The music starts, and so do I..."1,2,3,4...1,2,3,4..."

I know I have trouble walking now due to injuries, but that night I must have looked like I had all injuries rolled into one as I looked like a person on stilts trying to dance on a 5 cent coin!!

Anyway, the crowd did the right thing and ""Ooohedd" and "Aaahed" then joined in, thankfully providing me with some camouflage to hide behind.

Don't get me wrong Readers, it was a truly magnificent day now when I look back on it, but at the time I was finding a number of things hard to get through!

So these days were undeniably brilliant, but are either too hard to seperate or are remembered as being organisationally stressful. It's when looking back and seeing how they added to the future that I really see how enjoyable they really were.

So I have been thinking for days about this, and it's through this writing that I gain greater clarity with my thinking. I'd often tell the kids who I was teaching that when you write you can get to understand your ideas a bit more as you have to slow down and think about them more clearly.

This next anecdote does involve a bit of vulnerability, but I hope you'll understand and hang in there while I try to explain it. It's pretty much our love story.

Back in 1984 I was at Aquinas College in my 2nd year of my Teaching Course. I was cashed up at the start of the year and having a ball to begin the year. There was even some study happening...or so I thought. More about that later.

At our house one night we were sitting around having more ales than were probably needed and decided that we should host a party. It needed a theme though. so after considering multiple suggestions, and ditching just as many, we settled on our theme.

Yep, we were going to have a Toga Party!!!

We had this party organised in less than a week I think, and everyone at College was invited.

If only we had the same dedication to our studies at the time!

Anyway Readers, to cut a long story short, this was the night when Jen and I hooked up for the first time.

The next 2-3 days we were a bit shy with each other as we were trying to figure out if we really liked each or not. There were lots of deep discussions about what a relationship meant for each of us, and how we might make it work, especially as we came from opposite ends of the state and that our first teaching jobs would be hours and hours apart. Plus she was very organised study wise and I was just having a good time.

After a week or so of this we realised there was definitely something there between us, and Jen was heading home to Port Fairy for a few days. She said that she'd have an answer for me when she got back as she needed some time to think before becoming involved in a relationship, especially with a fruit loop like me at the time.

As I dropped her off at the bus station I can still remember the flood of emotions I was feeling, hoping for all money that she'd come back with a "Yes". Remember, there were no mobiles at the time, so communication was limited. We did however write a letter to each other beforehand that we promised to open one hour after the bus left, giving the other our thoughts about beginning a potential relationship. I was very open and vulnerable in what I wrote for her, and I was amazed that Jen did likewise. It did give me some hope, but no certainty.

For the next 2-3 days I was in a blur, just hoping for the outcome that I was wishing for. I just couldn't concentrate on anything, so I just went for run after run around Ballarat to kill time.

The weekend is now over and I have no lectures at College until later in the day, so I laze about at home. Not doing any study though!

Then there's the sound of the door opening ( we didn't bother knocking at each other's houses, just go in!) and Jen walks in and up the hallway. The look on her face didn't give me any clues as to which way she was thinking. My heart was in my mouth as we stood and looked at each other, then she just gave me the greatest hug ever and said "Let's do it".

So for me Readers, that was the best day of my life because of everything that has happened since. I remember it like yesterday. As well as being such a joyous occasion for me, it is also so emotional thinking about it now that she is gone.

So as I said earlier, that's our love story.

Now back to the study issue.

A few days later I went to collect my 1st semester results, only to find that in the envelope there weren't any results. Just a sternly worded letter from the College Boss, George Pell requesting a meeting where I needed to "Show cause why your course should not be terminated".

Great.

I'd just managed to snag Jen, and now I might be getting kicked out of college, meaning I'd probably have to leave Ballarat and find something else to do. I didn't want to go back the bank where I'd worked the year before that was for sure!!

As things turned out, he gave me a bot of a roar and told me to pull my finger out, and said I was staying by the skin of my teeth.

The dressing down I got from Jen was even more sterner, and this one I listened to!!!

We did graduate the following year, she went to Edenhope and I went to Wodonga, only 7 hours apart!! After a year I moved to Ballarat and Jen followed the next year. We got married and the rest is history, but none of this could have happened if it wasn't for the Toga Party ( which won Party of the year in 1984!!) and that fateful meeting in our hallway a week or so later.

But do you, like me, have things that happen from time to time and you think "This is the best day of my life!!"

Until the next day when something else happens and you think the same thing again.

What I'm trying to explain here is that our lives are filled with moments that we think are the best ever, because at that time they are.

Back in the day this was my first car. Every time when I got into it and it started, I'd just think it was the best day ever! I always joked to Jen that it was my car that attracted her to me in the first place!!

It was 2017 and my team Richmond was actually winning games. I was as happy as the proverbial "Pig in S&$T". Because our wins in the previous 32 years were few and far between, stringing a few wins in a row were the best days ever!

And then they topped it off by winning the flag!! I watched the first half on my own in a bar at Calgary Airport, then had to watch the final half in our room upstairs on the iPad while Jen slept soundly behind me. Clearly one of my best days!!

My place of peace. I know it is noisy, but every time I go for a spin I just get the feeling "This is the best day" This is where I do so much of my thinking.

Regular Readers would know that I have loved my running over the years, and wherever I have been I have explored by going for a run. Hills were my passion, and I stumbled across this set of steps in Barcelona that were far too irresistible to ignore...

Because this is the view that awaited me at the top.

And this pretty well sums up my attitude towards sport and running in particular.

And as a result of so much running over a long time, inevitable injuries. Despite the fact that I can no longer run, this picture always reminds me of how much joy each run gave me. Some days it would be hard to put one foot in front of the other, other days I'd feel like I could run forever. I'll always remember those days as some of my best.

Most mornings when I get up, or when I stand up after sitting for a long time I can barely walk as my ankle gets so stiff. On those rare mornings when I can get up without hobbling, my immediate thought is "This is going to be the best day", and it usually ends up that way as I start with such a great mindset.

I'd just landed in Helsinki, Finland, as part of a 3 week scholarship trip I'd been awarded. My first trip overseas on my own, in a country where very little was in English. It forced me to be more independent and learn from my mistakes. Each day was an achievement, especially for a person who only learnt how to do internet banking 2 years ago.

I'd go to bed each night thinking "That was the best day"

Over the past 2-3 years, I have thrown myself into reading more, and now writing. This is how a good text makes me feel, and how I feel when I'm punching out a post, especially ones that expose vulnerability such as this one.

On the same scholarship trip, this time in London. A few years ago our closest friends tragically lost their daughter. We had a movie night at the Bendigo Cinemas where we we watched her favourite movie, Mamma Mia. I was totally enthralled by it and just loved it so much. A few years later and I see it in London (twice on this trip) Jen and I also saw it twice more on subsequent trips, then again in Melbourne. When I watch this movie I always get the feeling of "How good is this day?"

The joy of being with our Grandsons. Whenever I'm with them nothing else matters, every day is the best day with these two.

And the best is saved for last.For years it had always been a dream of mine to travel overseas. Jen, being the rational one was able to cool my jets as we had far more pressing issues to take care of, such as paying off a house, educating and supporting our boys and basically keeping things together. We eventually did take our first overseas trip in 2014 I think and I'd always wondered what it would feel like flying into London. When that day came it was worth every bit of anticipation that had been building for years, and the culmination of putting more important things first. Here we are outside Buckingham Palace (very English photo), just one of hundreds we took over subsequent years where we travelled extensively. We have been so fortunate to have done it while we could, for if we waited until retirement it may have never happened at all.

Each day overseas was always the best day because we just knew how lucky we were to be doing this together.

Well Readers, a bit more of a soft touch to this post, it's just where I'm at right now. Too hot to be outside and I've been waiting all day for a phone call to say to come and collect my caravan which is being serviced. What better way to kill time than punch out the rest of this post. I know I have mentioned vulnerability a bit in this post, that's mainly because it is foremost in my mind today after reading someone's thoughts around it this morning. People sometimes mention it to me and talk about it further, others make fun about it, but either way I'm always prepared to open up about it.

And as much as I try not to think about it, I still have this nagging feeling that I should be doing things for school!! Help Me!!!!!!

Until my next post,

Cheers😀

 

 An Official Tourist!!

Hi Readers,

Trying to ensure that I'm not bludging about and staying occupied and busy.

I woke up on Sunday feeling like I had been run over by a truck and could not understand why. Once again, it wasn't Covid (I've still managed to dodge that little sucker!!🦠😷)

Then I remembered what I wrote last week and went back in detail in my mind all the things I had been doing and what I'd been eating to see if that could give any answers.

And it worked!

I'm convinced that it was what I was doing that was leaving me so wasted.

Because I have been so concerned that I don't want to turn into a sloth, I had actually been doing the complete opposite, and overworking myself. I still get up early in the morning and do all the exercises that I need to do for my legs and shoulders to stop them from completely going on strike. I was also having my nightly ride on the rollers in the shed watching 100% trashy tv. This is what I've been doing all year, no worries at all.

As I still have the rest of the day to fill in between, I was going for a morning bike ride, nothing serious distance wise, but I always pump things pretty hard every time I go out.

Then later on I've been going out for a paddle in the kayak for an hour or so at a lake that is too conveniently close!!

This was okay for the first two days, but on day three I could feel the effect on the body, and by Sunday I was just totally knackered. I did try and get out on the bike, but I struggled to even complete 20km.

Back in the day when I was running, I'd pump out that many k's around twice a week, along with smaller ones on every other day.

My problem is that I continually overdo things, much to my own detriment, which is also partly why my body is stuffed in many ways now.

Not complaining, that's just how it is.

So I spent Sunday forcing myself to rest, and that was just about the most stressful thing I have endured in the past year!!

Even while 'resting' I just had to be doing something else so I looked around online and decided to head off in my caravan again for a few days. This was especially good for if I found myself at home I'd probably fall back into some bad habits again and overdo things. 

I've got some garden work to do, and history shows that even when I do that I go as mad as a cut snake and try to do everything in just one day. Even Jen would try and put the brakes on me at times, saying "We've got two weeks to do this".

I'm a victim of my own excesses it seems.

Now, back to the topic of this post.

I rocked up to this caravan park at Nagambie (Overseas readers, google it. A beautiful place!!) and managed to back my van in first go! So far that is always the most stressful thing that I feel when taking the van somewhere..."Will I look like a total dick backing it in???"

In like Slim, and the setup was complete in less than 30 mins.

I know my setup doesn't look as flash as all the other ones around me, but it has all I need and I'm happy with it.

So this morning was a gentle ride around town, then a relaxing coffee and cereal under the annexe contemplating what I'll do today. Keeping in mind it will be in the high 30's again, I need to be smart.

After not rushing around trying to do things, I just hopped in the car and drove into town and had a casual walk around the place, poking my head into various shops just to see what was going down. When I drove into Nagambie yesterday I saw a bakery that looked good and thought to myself "I should try that place", but usually that's as far as it gets.

Well today Readers I bit the bullet and made myself go in there, and wasn't it worth it! 

One of the best egg and bacon pies was had under a tree in the shade by Lake Nagambie!

Normally in these situations I'd rush into the bakery, grab what I need, wolf it down and keep driving. But today I found myself just casually walking along the street, browsing the windows and just taking everything in.

Then it hit me.

I'd become a tourist!!!!!!

When I was first thinking of buying the caravan, my plan was to go and spend a night or two in lots of smaller towns and just get the feel of the place, and now it is happening and it's as good as I had hoped it might be. So far!

So after supporting the local bakery I drove back out to the Goulburn Weir, where I went for a bike ride this morning.

When we were kids, mum and dad would load the 8 kids into the Holden station wagon every Sunday when they could and we'd just "go somewhere".

And the Goulburn Weir was one of these "somewheres". Back then it was just a weir with no fences or gates or safety barriers. Remember Readers, back in the 70's, safety and kids were not always considered at the same time!!

My initial excitement at rediscovering one of my childhood favourite places was quickly tempered when I realised that due to all the safety measures, all the places where we swam, played and fished were now people free zones, with warnings akin to being burned at the stake and thrown to the fish as food if trespass was to occur!!

When I was a kid I thought of this Weir as our own version of Niagara Falls as it had so much power and water on display. How deflated was I many years later when I actually did visit Niagara Falls. Today pales by comparison significantly!!

This is all fenced off. Back in the day we would be "Piffing yonnies"  (You might need to look that one up, very localised language used from the time!) into the water and actually paddling in the water as far up as we felt safe to do so.

The edge of one of the spillway gates where fish (huge European carp) were congregating)

Looking down from the spillway. We'd often be paddling close to the white water.

Side view of the weir, only one gate open.

Readers, once again I just found myself not rushing as I explored the weir again after perhaps 50 years of being away. At one point I found myself just leaning on the rails watching the water and the fish and thinking "This is what tourists do", before coming to the conclusion, This is what YOU are doing, so you're now a tourist too!"

For the next 30 or so minutes I paid attention to what I was doing, and this included just not rushing, taking time to absorb the smells and sounds and sights.

And I even stopped to read the visitor information boards...And I enjoyed it!!!

If I back track to Sunday, where I felt like I'd had a double dose of sloth syndrome, compared to today is remarkably different, and a definite antidote to the dreaded S.S. (You can work that one out I'm sure!!)

Well Readers, people in the caravan park are starting to walk around with beers in their hands, so you can guess what time it must be?

But I'll hold off just for an hour or two more as something else beckons...

This post has been somewhat of an epiphany for me Readers as I enter into a new phase of my life on my own. I just checked in my diary and I see that school goes back in about two weeks, so normally at this stage of the holidays my mind would start wandering out of holiday mode, and into school mode, and I'd be making plans to go in and start getting my classroom organised.

Not any more, and it is actually the complete opposite.

I'm now shifting out of holiday mode and into permanent holiday mode!!!

And I haven't even gone back and checked for typos today!!

Who knows what the future holds...

Until my next post,

Cheers😁