During the drive to Geelong, I let my thoughts wander.
I thought of the first baby I lost.... I was taking dressmaking lessons in Wonthaggi and had cut out my dress; a fitted dress in a bright yellow fabric. Then I missed 7 weeks of lessons, while I was looking after my sick Mother. During this time, I got pregnant and miscarried. I returned to the dressmaking class, sewed up the dress and it was too tight, because I had put on weight. The dressmaking teacher asked if I had measured correctly and sadly, I told her about the baby. It was in 1965 that she became my good and lifelong friend and I was happy to be on the way to visit her.
Then it was 1974, a terribly hot day, when a brand new teacher for our Pyramid Hill school arrived to introduce herself. We talked to her for some time, in our air conditioned house and then I asked how she had got there. Her parents had driven her. They and her younger brother were all sitting in the car outside, in that ghastly heat. We hurried them inside and cooled them off...... and kept in touch. I was happy to be going to see that teacher.
My thoughts turned to a particularly painful time in my life, when the young massage therapist came to my house in Leitchville twice a week. In addition to massage, she helped me with schedules, appointments and other things my brain wasn't handling. She was a bright light in the day. When she changed her career to managing motels, there was always a bed for us. We were happy to be going to see her and her husband in Werribee.
I thought about my Dad for a long while. He died at the age of 62, while fishing, broken hearted for my Mum, who had died 11 years earlier. He was a quiet, gentle man, with a fantastic sense of humour. He was very athletic, excelling at whatever sport he tried. In the early 2000s, a set of coincidences led me to a relation in Mudgegonga. She put me in contact with her brother and we commenced emailing. A few years ago, we visited two brothers and their wives in Geelong. They are my Father's much younger cousins. They have the same sense of humour and the same devotion to their wives and families. Being so much younger, they didn't see Dad all that much but they heard of many of his athletic feats. Being with them makes me feel closer to Dad and I was happy to be going to meet them again.
What a wonderful week we spent in Geelong and Werribee! We had decided that it would be easier all round if we stayed in a Geelong motel for 3 nights.
My ex dressmaking teacher, K, insisted on paying for one night. She said that as she could no longer drive to see us, she wanted to contribute to the visit. She greeted us with a basket of goodies --- fruit, jam, bread etc. Two years ago, she purchased a birthday present for me but waited until we came down. We didn't get there because of the floods up here. I put on the brightly coloured caftan she had chosen and will wear it frequently. It's perfect for me! As we left, she said that she hoped we would be able to visit again next year, meaning that she hoped that my health would allow it. I don't even want to think of the time when I can't make this annual pilgrimage. There must be many older people who would love to see their good friends again, but can't. That's so sad.
At D's, we caught up on all the news, marvelling that we can always seem to pick up where we left off, a year before. It was wonderful to see her albums of the first grandchild. When the little one's Father was young, he referred to me as Nana Laurie, so I feel I am involved with that new family. They were away on holiday, so D was babysitting the dog and 2 tortoises. Despite the passing of 38 years, D is still the bubbly, blue eyed blonde with peaches and cream skin, that I met all those years ago. I can still see her in her early 20's, being the adored teacher of my elder daughter.
Dad's youngest cousin , B, had written that he had prior arrangements that he couldn't break but his older brother J phoned. We had an enjoyable lunch with him at the Geelong Football ground. Afterwards, he showed us the grounds and stands and pointed out which ones were soon to be replaced with bigger and better ones, at an enormous cost. He's a friendly, jovial guy and I enjoy the company of both of these men. They are the only relatives of my Dad with whom I have any contact. When I'm with them, I feel like Dad is near me.
Our next port of call was Werribee, where we were given the lovely disabled suite for 2 nights. P wasn't home when we got there. He was on his way back from a fishing trip up our way. When he arrived, the catch was baked whole and eaten that night ---- a great cod, 2' long. I'm not a fish eater but I have to say it was delicious.
D and P are such busy people but they make a big effort to see plenty of their visitors. An added bonus was their eldest daughter. E is a tiny, frail looking girl but she drives a whopping big truck at a mine in WA. Rain had held them up so her "weekend" was extended. We see quite a bit of D and P up here. They have relatives in the area so we see them when they have a break. They work such long hours at the motel, so they need to take a break every 6-8 weeks. No matter how hard they work, they never lose their loving kindness.
On our first day at Werribee, I was overtaken by a strong, impulsive urge and I made a booking at the tattoo parlour. On our second day, .... well the picture tells the story. I'm very happy with my little purple flowers. They are on my upper arm. It's now 10 days old and you can see it beginning to flake, as it's supposed to do.
We spent our last night in Melbourne, with Steve's sister, D. She and her husband G are fabulous hosts. I spent the whole week feeling spoilt, and this was the clincher. Our sister-in-law (A) and her daughter(also A) were making their annual trip from Germany to Australia and with them was the daughter's boyfriend. They came for morning tea and stayed chatting for a few hours. We all enjoyed seeing them again and it was delightful to meet the boyfriend, D. He told us how he had gone surfing for the first time and stayed for 6 hours!!!
The last visit of all was with my Aunt S. She is in her 80s and not travelling very well. Her only wish is to be with her husband, who died a few years ago. Sad.
And so we arrived home around 2am, tired, delighted with our week and proud to have such beautiful friends and family. Thank you to all of them.
