We Need a Holiday from our Holiday

School holidays. I love them, and I'm actually sad that they'll be over this week. I love having my kids home and not worrying about school-related routines.

Apparently though, this holiday has left a bit to be desired. One of my children has been quite vocal about the fact that, 'We haven't done anything exciting, or gone anywhere different ... it doesn't feel like the holidays!"

It's true, we haven't done really done too much out of the ordinary. That would have taken more time than we had available (Hubby and I have still had to work our usual hours), not to mention the money we don't have spare at the moment. I would have loved to do something a bit different as well. I was hoping we could at least go camping these holidays - somewhere with no technology or mobile reception sounds like heaven right now!

On the subject of work .... I have kept my job (yay!), but my role is changing. With the aged care facility I worked in preparing to close down sometime soon, I have been working more in another residential facility owned by the same company. Same job, but different routines, people and building layout. As well as learning the new place, I am also training soon to be a Home and Community Care worker ... so a fair bit of my focus these holidays has been on my own job (and the uncertainty of whether I even still had one was a big concern for a number of weeks). 

Having said that, the holidays weren't all boring for the family. We had a lovely Christmas and New Year. Our Cavegirl had her best friend come to stay for nearly a week. My sister had her 40th birthday celebration, which we hosted at our house. It meant we got to catch up with some family and friends we don't see very often, but they were mostly adults. The kids did some of their own camping in our paddock - still quite close by, because 'There's no WiFi if we go too far from the house!' (you can see why I think a real camping trip would be a good thing). We've also had more trips to the cinema than we usually would, to try to make up for not doing a lot else for the kids lately. The price at our local cinema is excellent, so that's something we CAN manage.

There have been more serious things taking up our time too. The Caveman has a broken finger (another cricket injury!), requiring a number of appointments and an operation so it could be pinned. His mother is also facing a health issue at the moment which has involved a couple of hospital visits, with more to come. 

All in all, we've had quite a busy 'holiday' period ... but I can see why it might not have felt like a whole lot of fun for the kids. Hubby and I enjoy being able to relax at home whenever we have the chance, forgetting that they haven't been as busy as us and would rather go somewhere else for once.

I'd like to think things will settle a bit once school goes back, but I have to admit, I'm not that confident!

The Force Is Strong With Us

We had a big family treat the other night - well, it's a treat if you're a nerdy family like we are.

At last, after months of anticipation, we took the kids to see Star Wars 7 'The Force Awakens' at the cinema.

We lined up with everyone else, handed over our tickets to the lady at the door, filed up into the cinema and took our seats. We waited slightly impatiently through the countless ads, listening to packets rustling and people chatting behind us (we were near the front).

Finally, the lights went out and that first familiar line appeared on screen. 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away....'

In that moment, you could have heard a pin drop. The expectation in the room was something I don't think I've ever experienced in a cinema before. Then, the signature music blared out and I'm pretty sure we all 'sang' along ... something like 'barm barm, ba-ba-ba-baarrm barm, ba-ba-ba-baarrm barm, ba-ba-ba-baaarrrm'.

That whole line would make no sense to anyone who isn't into Star Wars, but for us it was a real fan moment!

From that moment on, everyone was hooked. I'm not into giving away spoilers, so I won't say anything about the plot. I will say that the whole feel of the movie was much closer to the original trilogy (if it had been another one like the 'prequels' I wouldn't have been impressed). It was also nice to see some familiar faces in the cast - although some maybe haven't aged as well as others - and the new characters are all interesting too. There was no one who was instantly irritating (no Jar Jar Binks here!) and the plot twists kept everyone on the edge of their seats.

I sat between my youngest son (aged 8) and my daughter (aged 14) and, at various times during the movie, we would nudge each other excitedly, anticipating what would come next, or lean over and whisper about something that had just happened. I believe my husband and other son, a couple of seats over, were doing similar.

If I could justify the cost of another trip to the cinema, I'm pretty sure we'd have been back there to see it again already. In short, we loved it, and can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

As confirmation, my littlest Caveman turned to me as soon as the end credits began, to announce with a big grin, 'I want to watch Star Wars 8!'

Where did the time go?

'Do you know that feeling where you don't like school and don't want to go any more, but then, when it's holidays, you miss it and want to go there again?'

This was from my 8 year old son last night. School only finished for the year yesterday! I usually love the holidays, but the next 6 weeks could feel like an eternity for all of us if he's missing school already.

He had a great final day of year 3 - they went to the town pool for an hour, then off to a park to play and have pizza for lunch, then back to the school for a movie, topped off with a free ice block to end the day. (That ice block would have been nice, the temperature here got to 37 degrees yesterday!).

Anyway, now that everyone is done with school for the year, we can gear up towards Christmas! The tree and decorations are up and most of the presents have been bought and wrapped, so now it's just organising the actual day and balancing the budget. Of course, it won't be easy this year, with my work situation changing so much - I don't know yet whether I'm working on Christmas day, so we haven't arranged to go anywhere, or for any visitors to come to us. I have no guarantee of still having a job in January and a couple of large bills have just arrived, to throw the finances into chaos as well.

In fact, I think I'll be happy to see the end of 2015. We've had so much going on that the whole year seems to have passed us by like a train - it feels like we're still running along the platform, waving madly, trying to catch up and climb aboard! I only realised a few days ago just how little I've been involved with my youngest boy's school this year. In previous years, I took pride in the fact that I was a dedicated 'school mum', attending all parades/assemblies, helping in the classroom and the tuckshop (canteen). I haven't had time for any of it this year and, in all honesty, I just feel tired.

I will enjoy the time I have with my kids over the holidays though ... we are going to see the new Star Wars movie next week and will plan more activities once I've seen my next roster and can plan around it. If there's one thing we've all learned this year, it's that life can be short and you never know what's around the corner. Family time is something we all need more of and should appreciate while we can make the most of it.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all :-)

Extreme Punishment

Sometimes it doesn't just rain, it pours!

We've had so much going on in the past couple of months, we've felt at times like we needed the world to stop spinning so that we could jump off and have a break.

The latest saga here in the Crazy Cave involved our 14 year old daughter's appendix ... or maybe it was her ovaries. Nobody really seems to know for sure. What we do know now is that her appendix will never bother her again and that, when it was removed, the surgeon found evidence of a ruptured ovarian cyst. I've never had issues with my appendix or my ovaries, but they both sound painful.

While she was in hospital, and I stayed with her, the Caveman had to keep the household running for himself and the boys. He was a trouper - he had been the one to be awake most of the night with her when she first went to our local hospital (I was working night shift at the nursing home), then he drove us to the Sunshine Coast the next day to get her admitted to the hospital where they would do the operation. (Our hospital doesn't do them - don't even get me started on the subject of our local area losing the facilities we used to have ... )

One of the jobs he had to do while I was gone was to help our youngest boy complete his homework for the next day. It was a bit of a 'project', not the simple maths and spelling that is usually brought home. With my poor hubby being so tired before even sitting down to help, I did wonder how it would go. Obviously our little man was a bit worried too - and luckily this provided some comic relief for the whole family.

This is the text I received from The Caveman:

He said 'If I don't get this finished, I will get time in the reflection room, which is the third worst punishment in the school behind being suspended or 'executed' from the school!

Execution does seem a little extreme, doesn't it? It certainly gave everyone a giggle, including our poor girl with the sore tummy (which was, of course, made worse by laughter).

It gave his teacher a good chuckle too, when she was told about it the next day ... and no, he was not executed!

Work Changes

Yesterday I had the rather interesting experience of being in a room full of people who were told their workplace is going to be closed down.

That would be MY workplace. The aged care facility I work in.

It's amazing that something we all 'kind of' expected, can still come as such a shock. We've had a few residents pass away recently, which has left us with a number of empty beds ... and it hadn't gone unnoticed by staff that those beds were not being filled with new residents as they normally would be.

So, when we received notice that there would be a meeting for all staff, followed by a meeting for all residents and their families, it was natural that there would be speculation about whether the centre might be closing. It was with some trepidation that we all filed in for the meeting yesterday, and our worst fears were confirmed. The building is over 50 years old and was originally built to provide for residents with 'low care' needs. These days, there are more services provided to help people stay at home for longer before they need to move into a facility. This means that by the time they come to us, they tend to have more 'high care' needs. Long corridors and rooms far away from the nurses' station, along with a lack of the modern equipment that can be found in many other centres, mean that the building is no longer practical for providing aged care. The age of the building also means refurbishment isn't an economical option.

There were a few tears shed at the meeting, naturally. Our jobs are under threat and that is a worry for everyone. Some will be able to transfer to other facilities, which is what I hope to do, or into Home and Community Care, while others will be taking redundancy packages. The main concern for most staff though is the emotional state of the people we provide care for. I am proud to say we are all quite protective of our residents and we are acutely aware that the idea of having to move house will be upsetting to many of them. There is no set date for closure, it will depend entirely on when the residents have all moved out. This could take just a couple of months, or it could be well into next year - we have to wait and see.

I was fine at the meeting, although hearing sniffles around the room made me a little emotional. I was more affected on the drive home afterwards though, when I thought more about the people I will miss when we no longer see each other regularly. The residents will all end up in different places - some may even have to move away to other towns. Our staff group, who make such a great team and are so supportive of one another, will all go in different directions. I will even miss the building itself ... it's unique and quirky, and has the best views in town.

Most of all, I will always remember that this building is the one I re-entered the workforce in. My own confidence has grown so much over the 17 months I've been there and the experience has been invaluable. I don't know how much longer I will have there and it will be sad to see it go, but I will always think of it with pride.

Sharing the Classics

We like to share with our children, especially introducing them to the stuff we grew up with .... specifically music and television shows we loved.

The Caveman and I grew up in very different households. The thing we had in common was that we were both raised by single parents - his parents were divorced, as were mine. He was raised by his Dad. He was the only child and his exposure to different types of television and music was, by his own admission, fairly limited. He grew up in a regional area, with very little choice in TV or radio channels. TV viewing consisted of sport, news, documentaries and half-hour British comedies, and there was only one local commercial radio station. He didn't really discover popular music until he was a teenager and had his own radio in his bedroom.

My upbringing was almost the opposite; my mum was raising three kids, all with different tastes, so we had a lot of variety. We lived in Brisbane; TV was everything from cartoons to dramas, movies (old and new), sport, comedies, documentaries, and a bit of news thrown in for good measure. Music was a constant: radio (on popular commercial stations), cassettes and records - oh, how we loved our record player! - and watching Countdown (and Rage, later on) was like a religion for us every weekend.

There were other differences too, which dictated the atmosphere we were raised in. His Dad had grown up in a very stable, traditional home. My mum grew up in an orphanage ... when she had her children, she didn't have that traditional family model to follow. She was like a kid herself in many ways, and enjoyed discovering the things we liked, while also sharing her old favourites with us.

The Caveman and I are products of our upbringing - as we all are - and the differences do show sometimes. He likes tradition and routine, and believes that the kids should do what he says, no questions asked. On the other hand, I don't care too much about routines and I'm more easy going with the kids (probably too much, at times). We are well suited because of our differences, we have been a good influence on each other and, for the most part, have found a happy middle ground.

Sharing our childhood and teenage favourites with the kids is one thing we have always agreed on. In recent times, they've all learned more about 60's, 70's and 80's music than they ever wanted to know and, as it turns out, they don't mind most of it. Of course, the trade off for us is that we have to listen to their music too ... everything from Taylor Swift, The Weekend and Bruno Mars to Eminem and 50 Cent! But we are okay with that. I never wanted to be one of those parents that says, 'No, I don't want to hear the rubbish you listen to.' There is a lot of good music out there, if you're prepared to listen.

There has also been a resurgence of classic tv shows in our lounge room recently. We have a collection of movies and TV series which we choose from (none of us are interested in the constant stream of reality TV or current affairs shows that swamp our free-to-air channels). Our daughter has discovered a love for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Our younger son, aged 8, loves watching old Doctor Who episodes with his Dad and, in turn, the Caveman is learning to appreciate the modern Doctor Who as well. Our kids prefer the original Star Wars trilogy over the Prequels (well, doesn't everyone?). They have seen episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, The Cosby Show and even Bonanza - now that's going back to before either of us was born! It's not all old stuff though... we also watch current shows like The Big Bang Theory, along with documentaries, sport and news.

Reading through what I've written, I realise that we may be nerds (really!), but the important thing out of all this is that it helps us to communicate better. Finding common ground, sharing things we all love, it extends into other areas of our relationships with each other. And that makes for a happy family.

Worth the Numb Butt

This is another blog about a special friendship ... although it has none of the loss or grief that was present in my last post.

Our daughter, the Cavegirl, is away at the moment, visiting her best friend in Townsville. Her friend used to live in our area, which is when they became friends, but her family moved away a few years ago. For anyone who isn't aware, Townsville is in Far North Queensland, a good 12 hour drive away from where we live - or an expensive flight (which is why the two girls haven't actually seen each other for over two years!).

It was organised in a bit of a hurry last week, when someone I know in the other girl's family rang to say they were heading up there for a few days and would our girl like to go along? I knew she'd be thrilled with the idea and said yes for her, since she was out with friends at the time.

We agreed the Cavegirl would have to be told a few days before the trip, so she could pack, but everyone else would keep it a secret so that her friend wouldn't have any idea she was coming.

In the end, it was last Saturday morning and our darling Cavegirl was in a typical teenager-ish grumpy mood. Deciding it was time to cheer up our cranky miss, Hubby and I took her outside and he aimed his phone at her with the Record function on, while I told her the options for the last weekend of the school holidays - she could choose from Ten Pin bowling, one of the Sunshine Coast theme parks, or a trip to Townsville to see her friend.

She was stunned. Initially she didn't know whether to believe me, but once she realised it was a genuine offer she burst into tears and gave us hugs, which made for a lovely, moving recording. We emailed it to her friend's mum, who told me it made her cry.

The next task was for the Cavegirl to keep the news to herself, so that her friend would be surprised when she got there ... a much harder task, when our girl was so excited herself! She loved the idea though and spent the next couple of days packing and doing her best to avoid social media (she didn't trust herself not to spill the news!).

She was picked up from here on Wednesday morning at about 7 am and spent the entire day in the car, with just a couple of stops along the way. She kept me updated with texts occasionally:

12 noon - 'good trip so far, non stop laughter and entertainment.'
1.30 pm - 'Just reached Rocky and this is seriously getting boring.'
5.20 pm - 'I can't feel my butt ... it's like it doesn't exist ...'
and then, at last:
11 pm - 'I am with my best friend!!! :-)'

They recorded the meeting for us ... my girl walking around the corner and completely surprising her friend, who genuinely had no idea she would be coming too. It was absolutely brilliant, both girls crying and hugging and yes, I cried when I watched it.

So, after spending four full days in Townsville, she will be arriving home tonight. From all reports, the girls have had a fantastic time together - I'm sure it would have been an emotional goodbye this morning. No doubt we'll have LOTS of photos to look through when she gets home, but I'll just be glad to have my girl home again ... even if she's tired and grumpy after the long trip back :-)