Salve for the soul.

I was born in the city.

I was raised on the coast.

But my heart will always feel at home in the country.

Yesterday was a bit of a struggle to be honest.

The culmination of a whole host of reasons.

I was physically exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed.

Just didn't have the energy to keep my chin up.

After a stressful school drop off with a tantruming 5yr old (who excels in class but has big behavioural issues at school), I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. I longed to get into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Six years of incessant sleep deprivation/disruption has been catching up with me and the longer it goes on, the less I'm able to bounce back. I'm very much aware of the impact it has on my emotional resilience too. We all struggle with it, as parents of little ones, (well, most of us do anyway).

So...feeling like a weepy zombie, I dropped Hubby at work and kept driving towards the Brindabellas. I needed to be in a comforting space, preferably with caffeine, which is why the Jackman and I found ourselves at Lanyon Homestead.

Sitting in the sunshine with a strong coffee in my hands, watching Jack running knee deep in clover, was salve for my soul. It was peaceful and beautiful and comforting.

Wandering about the orchard and listening to the fairy wrens in the hedgerow lifted the weight of my worries momentarily and let's face it, it's impossible not to feel happy chatting to a herd of curious cows.

My problems haven't magically disappeared but the fresh air and space gave me a little respite and perspective.

Lanyon will always have a special place in my heart.

Its a precious piece of countryside and I'm grateful for it.

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Delicious Autumn

Autumn is the season I feel the most alive.

It injects joy into my soul, it really does.

The Jackman and I enjoyed a gorgeous morning wandering about down by the lake but before we did that we stopped off at Penny University for coffee and Jack's obligatory 'spot the puppy' session.

We scored on both fronts.

Happy me with good coffee in its sweet blue cup and happy Jack feeling chuffed about the Old English Sheepdog who rocked up to the cafe.

Commonwealth Park was carpeted in leaves. Perfect for a small boy and his Mummy to indulge in leaf fights, chase water fowl, go on a bear hunt and gather sticks to make a campfire in the 'woods'.

"Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841]"

― George Eliot

Good for the soul I tell you, good for the soul!

xx Em

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Sunday drives in the countryside.

Before we had kids, we used to go on little impromptu adventures into the countryside on weekends. We would jump in the car and drive wherever the winding roads would take us, stopping for a languid lunch at a pub or cafe and take a wander about before heading home. We would go hiking, explore towns, get lost, then find our way again.

 

On Sunday Hubby and I both woke up with a longing for a little adventure, just the two of us, free to go wherever we wanted. Alas we don't have the luxury of dropping the kids off to grandparents for the weekend so we settled for a shorter day trip with the boys. We jumped in the car and headed north up the highway to Goulburn.

 

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We stopped off at Lake George to take in the view...

 

 

Grabbed a coffee and had a play at Fedra Olive Grove at Collector.

 

 

And ended up at the historic waterworks at Goulburn.

 

 

It was a like a little slice of the English countryside.

 

 

The clouds and autumn light were mesmerising. It was peaceful and beautiful and I could have curled up under the weeping willow and watched the river all afternoon.

 

"Sudden and magnificent, the sun's broad golden disc showed itself over the horizon facing them; and the first rays, shooting across the level water-meadows, took the animals full in the eyes and dazzled them. When they were able to look once more, the Vision had vanished, and the air was full of the carol of birds that hailed the dawn."

- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

We took a peek at the pump house which is now a museum.

Then reluctantly got back in the car, stopping for lunch at a renown Goulburn bakery before heading home.

Bliss!

xx Em

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