The Ghost of Birthdays Past

Tomorrow is the Caveman's birthday - his 41st. If we weren't so busy with studies and, well, life in general, we'd probably do something to celebrate it. It also doesn't help that he is currently on a pretty strict nutrition regime ... which means no cake!

Wondering whether this birthday will still feel special for him made me think of this time last year, when we celebrated him reaching 'the big 4-0'.

We were actually on holiday at Jindabyne in New South Wales. Family holidays are pretty much non-existent on our income, but early last year we won a travel voucher and decided to spend it on a (probably) once-in-a-lifetime trip to the snow.

The Caveman was the only one of us who had ever travelled on a plane before, or seen snow - way back when he was a toddler - so this was a huge family treat. The travel there and back was great (it turns out we all enjoy flying!) and the snow, even better. It was a budget holiday, as snow trips go ... we didn't stay in a resort and we didn't try any skiing.

Although, since certain members of our family are a little accident-prone, putting any of us on skis would have seemed like an invitation for disaster anyway. We did do some tobogganing and that was scary enough!

Staying in Jindabyne meant that it was only a short drive to get to the Perisher or Thredbo ski resorts, but we also managed to fit in other, non-snow activities (such as boating on the massive lake and arranging a horse riding session for our girl). It really was the best of both worlds.

All that, combined with a stopover (and sightseeing!) in Canberra the night before flying home, made for the most amazing family holiday ever. The fact that the Caveman had his birthday while we were at Jindabyne just made it even more special.

So, while this year's birthday will be much more low-key, the memories of last year's will stay with us for a long time.

My own 40th is creeping up quickly now and I will take the opportunity (as I do every year) to gloat about the fact that, for the next six weeks, he is two years older than me instead of just one!

Happy birthday, my darling Caveman xx

My Brain Still Works!

Well, I have had quite a break away from my blog just lately - I do apologise to anyone who might have missed me!

I mentioned when I first started this blog that I was in the process of trying to get back into the workforce.

What has followed has been months of looking for a job, dealing with Centrelink (and we all know that's no fun!) and trying to figure out how to make myself more employable after so many years at home raising my family.

I finally took a huge step and have started a course at the local TAFE college, studying Aged Care. I was very nervous in the lead-up to the course beginning (hey, it's been a long time since I was in a classroom!), but I am really enjoying it so far. In fact, at the three week mark, I can honestly say I am finding the course more interesting and enjoyable than I had ever expected to. My classmates are easygoing, interesting people and the teacher is enthusiastic and supportive.

What more can a student (of any age) ask for?

There is a lot to learn and at times I feel like my brain is being expected to hold a lot more information than it thinks it's capable of .... but I seem to be managing okay so far! The title of this post is no accident - I really am pleased to announce that my brain does still seem to work. The great thing is, I can feel my own self-esteem and self-confidence improving with each day. As an added bonus, the Caveman has gone back to school with me at the same TAFE college (although doing a different course) and I have seen the same changes occurring for him. It is exciting for both of us and, for the first time in years, we feel like we are doing something truly productive toward our future.

Of course, the impact on our kids is significant too .... they have had to get used to all five of us needing to be out the door before 8.30 every morning. There is more expectation on all of them to help out around the house (which they are doing, mostly without complaint!). They seem quite proud of us too, which is lovely.

Naturally, there have been times the adjustment has been difficult. We've had mornings when I didn't think any of us would get to where we needed to be, on time. There have been afternoons I've come home and realised I have to pop back out to do a little shopping and I'm just too tired to think about it. A couple of nights ago I had to do an urgent load of washing and get it dry the next day or the kids would have run out of school uniforms!

We are getting ourselves sorted out though and the routine is smoother every day. We have our study times and relaxation times ... and everyone is generally excited and happy about this new phase in our lives.

Not to mention, it's kind of sweet to drop your kids off in the morning and call out, 'Have a nice day at school,' only to have them turn around and call back, 'You too, Mum!'

Around and around we go ...

Our State's capital city, Brisbane, is home to a number of 'toll road' tunnels and motorways. Not that I'm complaining. To be able to coast easily through the middle of the city (or underneath it) and cut out all those traffic lights is wonderful and I don't mind paying for the privilege.

Naturally it's not cheap - and I'm sure I'd be the first to complain if I was driving those roads and paying the tolls all the time - but for those of us who only visit 'The Big Smoke' occasionally, it's a cost we allow for. We have a toll tag attached to our windscreen, so I just top up the account online before we go and the fees are paid automatically as we pass the toll points.

The only problem is that every now and then a new road or tunnel is built and, for 'occasional' visitors like us, it can be tricky to learn which ones to take and how they all connect to each other.

We visited family in the southern suburbs of Brisbane last weekend. Normally we have two options - either go the long way around on the Gateway Motorway to get to a connecting road which then takes us to the right place, or go through the middle of the city. The Clem 7 tunnel goes right under the middle, cutting a lot of traffic lights (and a fair chunk of time) out of our journey, so it's usually our preferred option.

This time we decided to fit in a visit with family members living out past Ipswich before heading to the usual suburbs. No problem, what a great opportunity to check out the new Airport Link tunnel. We piled the kids, the luggage and the dog into the car, programmed our destination into the GPS (that was our first mistake!) and off we went.

We had no trouble finding the tunnel.  In we went, feeling very clever. Until the GPS, which is usually great, told us to 'take the ramp and keep right at the fork'. The poor thing ... having trouble keeping up with our location, it was giving the instructions a few seconds late. So, since we were almost at the fork, the Caveman assumed it meant for us to take the left turn (admittedly, it could have been mistaken for an exit ramp). A few moments later, it became clear we were heading towards the airport - the exact opposite direction to where we needed to be going!

After this unplanned detour we found a place to turn and head back to the city, toward the Inner City Bypass (which is where the Link Tunnel was supposed to take us in the first place). This was going well, until we were going past Queensland's hallowed ground of sporting events and concerts alike, Suncorp Stadium. It was at this point I turned around to speak to the kids in the back seat, forgetting to warn the Caveman which direction our next turn should be. Unfortunately, we missed it. So, our tour of inner city Brisbane included a another unplanned detour, this time over the river and into a quiet little area behind the State Library.

This was getting frustrating, to say the least. We drove back over the river into the city area on a different bridge, missing another turn into the Bypass, before we found an intersection where we could turn and head back past Suncorp Stadium again. This time we paid attention and went where we were supposed to go. In the end, to our surprise, we arrived at our destination only 15 minutes later than we'd planned to.

The experience hasn't put us off using the tunnels on future trips to Brisbane (although we may choose not to bother with the GPS next time). However, since we had also gone through about double the number of toll points I had been expecting, the first thing I did when I got near a computer again was to top up our toll account!