Some weeks are busier than others. Some weeks requre more effort than most. Some weeks leave you feeling drained.
Sometimes life simply gets in the way.
Then an unexpected treasure reveals itself. A little gem that reminds you why you do what you do, why you choose to live where you live.
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| Curl Curl Lagoon. Photo credit: RussellVJWard |
A week to remember
A few weeks ago, my wife had a bit of a near miss.
A major storm hit Sydney mid-week. The following morning, I stood on our back deck and surveyed the scene. We were lucky to have escaped with no damage.
Sarah called me on my way to work less than twenty minutes later. In tears, she struggled to explain what was wrong. I tried hard not to conjure up terrible images in my mind. At the time, I thought our life was about to take a dramatic change in direction – and probably for the worse.
It transpired that a huge ghost gum tree in our garden had toppled over as my wife hung the washing out to dry. Hearing several sharp cracks from the base of the tree, she ran. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t look back. She just ran.
As she flew down the steps by our house, the bushy top of the tree fell down around her. Thankfully unhurt, the washing line where she’d stood only moments before was not so lucky, destroyed by the thick trunk which buried itself deep in the sodden ground.
This week she had her 20-week pregnancy scan and I was on tenterhooks for days. The events of the week before no doubt had something to do with it. That feeling that life can throw up so many unexpected twists and turns. The reality that life can change so quickly.
The scan however was great and we have an amazing little boy or girl growing away.
Welcome relief
The weekend after the week-that-was, we found ourselves sat on the sand by a small protected lagoon at Curl Curl, a suburb on the Northern Beaches.
Our dog, Milo, swam after his tennis ball in the water as my wife and I lazed in the late afternoon sun.
In the distance, a dog played in the lagoon’s shallows, surfers carried their longboards over the sand, and a flock of gulls headed out to sea. A band played in the surf club on the north side of the lagoon, led by a female singer with a wonderfully laid-back and mellow voice.
The sunlight created a reflection of the lagoon’s ripples over the nearby bushes in a rhythmic, swaying pattern, those same bushes mirrored back on the water’s broken skin.
We had music, sunshine, water and wildlife. This small part of the world was at peace with itself and we felt equally contented as the light slowly started to fade on this winter’s day.
That’s right, on this winter’s day.
Twenty degrees, the sun shining, the two of us stretched out on our backs on the sand, our pup swimming around in the salt water.
There aren’t many places where winter is like this. It’s almost hard to believe unless you know this country well.
It was an unexpected weekend treasure.
Life’s little treasures
The afternoon reminded me how grateful I should be for what I have. How thankful I must be for every passing day that my pregnant wife’s health is on track. And how lucky I am to experience environments like these surrounded by my young and growing family.
As time passes, I’ve become a true believer in taking stock of what you have at home and savouring precious moments like this simple treasure by the beach.
But you don’t have to live by the beach or be able to doze under a winter’s sun. It doesn’t really matter where you are or what you have. You may think my life journey a touch extreme, maybe yours is less so, but so what?
Whatever your deal, whatever your story, it still pays to take a deep breath, slow down, and have a long, hard look around you.
Think about where you live and what you do. Remind yourself of the reasons you are where you are and the things that make it particularly special to you.
Now do me a favour and share what you’re thinking.
Tell me about the little treasures in your own particular locale that make you realise just how lucky you are.
It might be a location, a time of day, an event or maybe a scene out the kitchen window.
Tell me about that thing (or things) that make living where you are so special.
And share that local treasure below.
[For fun, next week we’ll do the reverse and look at the not-so-good.]
Competition reminder: The picture above was taken with my new Cybershot camera and you still have until this Friday (29 June) to win your own new Cybershot camera which I’m giving away.
Make sure you go to the link here to enter and share your ‘bad’ photo with me by email or blog post (and don’t forget to leave a comment to tell me where to find your entry). Can’t wait to see your photos!
Great post! I’m an American living on a tiny island in the Bahamas and I’m thankful for so much, big and small: that Life unfolded to bring me to this special place, the sound of waves lapping the beach as I drift to sleep, the multi-hued colors of the sea, abundant sunshine, antics of my darling dog, deep love, fresh fish, wonderful family and friends, coming across your blog post this morning. Thank you! http://www.choosingthebetterlife.com
Thanks, Dawn, glad you liked it. Your own local environment sounds wonderful. The ocean plays a big part in creating a peaceful, relaxing environment. I’d struggle to be away from it, for certain.
That said, I’ve enjoyed other ‘treasures’ in places I’ve called home. The early morning light rising over the coastal mountains of British Columbia, the smell of cut grass on an English summer’s day (when the sun finally pokes its head out!), and so on, but the ocean is pretty special.
How long have you lived on the Bahamas? Great part of the world.
Thanks for your comment 🙂
It’s funny, I just wrote a a piece on my blog with similar themes. I had a little of the mid-winter blues (although as you said, winter on the mid-north coast of NSW is not unpleasant). I am grateful for living in the country, surrounded by peace and beauty. I am grateful for my family and for my community. I am grateful for the freedom I have to pursue what makes me happy.
Thanks for your post by the way – I’m so happy your wife wasn’t hurt by the falling tree.
Hey Sara, I just read your post. Funny how winter the world over gets us down even though, here, it’s not that bad at all.
Thanks for your comment. My wife is fine now, although she was a bit shaken up at the time. The tree will be cut up into tiny pieces this weekend. It will be missed, but I’d rather keep my wife instead 😉
Thanks again.
Thanks for your reply, Russell. I’m enjoying your blog! I’ve lived in the Bahamas full-time for about a year and a half. I started my blog on my one-year anniversary of being on the island. However, I’d been visiting that island for 25 years – starting as a teen vacationing with my family. So it’s been a home community for decades. Life still poses challenges, of course, but this environment (the ocean is key, as you say!) and the people who surround me and my general “place in life” make it all feel more manageable. So many treasures in our days, so long as we remember to look for them. Glad your wife and growing baby are both well too.
I’m so glad you had a wonderful scan of your baby, and a wonderfully lazy winter day to muse on what’s important. Very blessed.
In the Netherlands, I’ve written about my street — the greenery, architecture and friendly folk (even if some only nod and smile or say ‘Dag’) makes me feel content. Similarly, we treasure the late northern sunlight in the summer (until 11 pm). My home in North Carolina was so wonderfully perfect (location, layout, details) that I felt blessed every single moment I was in it. It was hard to part with it, and when I did, I didn’t look back. To this day I can’t think of it because it makes me miss the way the light filtered in, the sun porch nestled in pines, walking barefoot throughout, how happy we were living there.
Hi Dawn, thanks for sharing this with me. Sounds like a little piece of paradise in your neck of the woods 🙂
Wife and baby are both going really well. 21 weeks now so time’s starting to move very fast now!
Thanks again.
Thanks, Linda. I’ll admit to being a little relieved when we knew the scan was okay and it was a real joy to watch the little bub wriggling away.
I’ve read your ‘Straat’ post and it sounds homely. Here it is for anyone else reading this comment – http://www.adventuresinexpatland.com/wp/2012/06/17/this-little-straat-of-mine/
Funny you mention the northern sunlight. It is one of the things I truly miss here in the south. In summer, it gets dark at 8pm so we don’t get those lovely late sunny evenings. The reverse is that we also don’t get those shockingly early ends to the day in winter – it probably gets dark at 5-6pm at worst here. Still, I do miss that little summery treasure.
NC is quite lovely too (including the sound of your previous home). Maybe one day you’ll return?
Great post! I’m in St. Louis and about to move to Brisbane, about four weeks from now.
As for that small moment, I was driving with my 11 year old son, lots of traffic, lots of tension, lots of business in my day.
My son was talking and telling me about his day. I looked over at him and he was smiling so sweetly and said, “How was your day, Mom?”
Melted me.
This pic is my son with my husband.
This is wonderful…It’s good to be thankful for the small things and to realize that things can change quite suddenly, in the space of a few minutes. Your wife was very lucky. Lots of love to you both from my tropical island corner of the world (where it is most definitely summer, but not unbearably so!)
Thanks Emma. Thinking of you kicking back in your tropical island corner of the world with just a little bit of envy 😉 One day I’ll get a chance to visit what sounds like a beautiful spot (I hope).
That week definitely encouraged me to think more about what we have here in Sydney. By the way, the tree was cut up into small pieces and taken away yesterday. Farewell dear ghost gum! 🙂
Hey Karen, why thank you! Congrats and good luck on the big move to Brisbane – I’m sure you’ll love it there.
Lovely story about you and your son – and that’s a sweet picture of him and your husband. I hope I get to enjoy as many moments with my son or daughter and wife in due course.
Fingers crossed for your move – check back in soon and let me know how it all went.
I’m so glad for you that your wife was ok after that frightening experience with the falling tree!
I miss Australia a lot after reading your lovely account, especially the winter! Here in Helsinki, it’s about the same temperature as where you are, except that it’s summer 🙂 There is so much that I’m grateful for here in Helsinki, though. We live within about a kilometre of the city centre, and yet we can walk 100 metres in any direction and find lovely parks, which in the summer are green and leafy and dotted with happy children and their parents. This morning we walked down the street to a great park with big, climbable rocks bordering it on one side. The kids rock-climbed and went “adventuring” and made a pretend camp-fire as the sun shone in a bright blue sky. I laughed to hear my three-year-old announce that she was going to find some “bush tucker” (did she learn this from our Play School DVDs?) She carefully threaded a leaf onto a stick and put it near her mouth. “No, you have to warm it up over the fire first!” instructed her big sister, whereupon Little Sister threw the whole thing into the camp-fire 🙂
Good times!
Thanks Katriina. We both smile about it now but it was a close thing. The tree finally departed over the weekend and we’ll at least hang the washing in relative safety from now on!
The reliable (and warm) weather is probably one of the main things I’d miss if we left. We take for granted the sunny mornings and blue skies throughout the day, but I remember life in other countries where the weather wasn’t so predictable. I’m not sure how well I’d cope with grey skies now but who knows?
Helsinki sounds lovely. I never visited any of that region when I lived in the UK and I wished I had. It sounds like you’ve found a great environment for the kids. Love the bush tucker comment. That has to be Play School. Are they also big Wiggles fans? (a constant presence on TV here and I’m sure I’ll get to know them better in coming years!).
ahh there are so many to write about where I live. In fact it is the theme of my whole blog.
Well, I hope you keep on writing about them and sharing them with us on your blog 🙂