81 days to Antarctica..."What's My Scene" Hoodoo Gurus

 

Approximately eight  minutes reading time

 

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Mother Teresa

 

Hello! I hope that you are well and that your week has been a good one. I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are rolling by. Thank you for joining me.

It’s only twenty seven days until Christmas and thirty three days until 2022. Oh my!

Although we have returned to Wintertime which is expected to continue until mid-December at least, we are enjoying the glorious scents of Spring and the beautiful, colourful gardens whenever possible. During the breaks in the rainstorms and gale force winds most days, we have enjoyed our long and splendid walks which invigorate both Schrodie and myself. We manage daily adventures of some kind. For these joys and almost daily delights we remain ever grateful.

“What’s My Scene” one of the biggest hits by the Australian 80’s Rock Band Hoodoo Gurus is this weeks ‘Song of the Week’. Hoodoo Gurus made good music with a vibrant, happy sound. Although not one of my favourite bands, I have always been a fan. Today I chose this particular song because I have just returned from meeting one of my favourite people. It was wonderful to see him and catch up. It’s been years since we have met in person and like all my relationships, time has not made a difference. We had worked together years ago and meeting him, at a job I mostly hated, was my silver lining. I am happy for this morning’s catch-up and look forward to our next.

Sparked by seeing him today, I am reminded of the many incarnations I have been fortunate to experience over the years. My life has been lived in countless, different worlds with an array of wonderful, interesting people of all kinds. My scene has always been dynamic as I crossed into multiple, different and convergent worlds for me but not the norm in any way. My mixed and ever changing scenes defied and breached societal expectations and accepted stereotypes. For me, this multi world life experience highlights Serendipity and the Synchronicity of Life. I am reminded of how fortunate I have been to be surrounded by smart, funny, creative, fun, talented, interesting, inspiring and inspired individuals of all kinds, in both work and life in general. 

Mutual care, affection and respect abound and are fundamental in all my relationships. To me, friendship is a sacred bond. At this point in my life, my scene has once again changed in life’s progression. Yet most importantly, the important and still good, strong, relevant bonds forged in past lives remain intact, for which I am eternally grateful. These bonds, when secure can withstand almost anything that life has to offer. With them comes a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort, no matter the time or place or world. This is the real gift of relationships in life whether they are familial, friendship or romantic. 

Mother Teresa’s words reinforce this for me. A sense of belonging is critical to all human beings and pack animals. Belonging and finding one’s scene is fundamental to a sense of peace, happiness and well-being. Too often I believe that people struggle because they fail to understand that your scene changes as you do and is critical to your growth and evolution. Hanging on to people, places and a scene which no longer fits you is not healthy or beneficial and will rob you of many positive and new opportunities, if you allow this to happen. Once again the laws of nature and physics reinforce this for me, mathematics principles as well by reminding me that life is made up of constants and variables. For me, life has always consisted of more variables than constants. Except for this point in time since the Black Summer Bushfire stole my life and things are reversed with too few variables that I can control in my life. The people and scenes from the different chapters of my life which continue to fit are my constants. Time is a critical factor here whereby it is important to acknowledge that over time some constants can transition to variables and vice versa as scenes change along with life.

It is very special to know people throughout your various transitions and stages of life, who know you and see you and recognise you throughout them all. Most importantly when they like you equally, care about you and love you. I have never needed to see the important people in my life, constantly as the constancy for me is the relationship which endures. This is my scene. I have always jumped and lived between worlds in a way that is not supposed to happen and is almost Supernatural. I have been blessed. Even in romantic relationships I believe in sharing space to move and grow, separately and together. I am not quite sure what my current scene is or will be but I know that it will be right for me. Again my ‘Knot of Life’ reassures me that I am right where I need to be with the right people in my life. Whether I see them regularly or not is inconsequential as I know that they are ever present in my life. This makes me happy. We all change every day but our core self remains intact as it evolves. At times our core self can seem lost, hidden or fractured but with the required tender loving care (TLC) this can be remedied and restored, no matter the challenges.  Sometimes our paths separate only to rejoin at a different point in time and this knowledge makes me happy and gives me comfort. I guess that believing this spares me the angst of separation anxiety as I know “... that whatever will be, will be” just as Doris Day sang all those years ago in Que Sera Sera, which Mummy taught me as a little girl. I surrender to the Universe once more as my journey continues and my path evolves. I look forward to these next changes and the return of important people in my life, at the right time.

My phone has notified me that it was two years ago today that a Semi-trailer ploughed into the back of my car, as we drove home from work in the sweltering heat. Gratefully we both survived this terrible experience and trauma. I was told that this was unbelievable. I am grateful that the smashed boot is no longer a constant and daily reminder of this experience.

Johnny and I are doing well although he has not received adequate attention from me, of late. My song list and exercises are expanding. My playing is improving as my skills increase. We are having fun and I enjoy my lessons.

Schrodie and I continue to dance every day to a minimum of three songs. We also play fetch, chasings as well as hide and seek several times a day. We have fun every day. Murphy stayed with us on Friday, which was wonderful.

We love our walks in our home village when we go to see our bushfire rebuild most days. Schrodie especially loves exploring the house and is excited whenever we go home, as am I. We are becoming more comfortable returning, with each visit. The tiler has been at work and is expected to finish tiling the bathrooms, laundry, kitchen and outdoor areas. So far, so good. I spoke with him about arranging the tile patterns to fit and he understood and agreed to this detail. If he does this then he is indeed a craftsman, which I believe to be the case. He is the same tiler who completed my friend’s home, even though it was with another building company. My friend’s home started after mine and there are tenants already living in her home. It was completed three months ago. Mine is only now at lock-up with a temporary front door in place. The painters started but barely. The three internal paint colours, all fairly neutral seem to look good together and complement each other. The wall in the living room is unremoved. An antenna has been added to the roof but it is not the tree antenna which I discussed at length as the requirement with the lady at my appointment so many months ago. Her assurance was that if he did not have the tree antenna then my money would be refunded. This is not the case so once again I must fight for what is right. I am exhausted. I hate finding myself in this position. I am grateful to see progress on my build. I will discuss this with the Site Supervisor and will trust him until I can check that it fits the requirements for my home and area. 

I fear that the Colorbond boundary fence is as yet not fixed. I believe that they will attempt to leave it for me to fix. I hope that I am wrong. My Friday morning appointment with the Site Manager has been rescheduled to tomorrow morning. I am eager for an update on my bushfire rebuild. He told me that they are only taking two weeks off over Christmas and New Year rather than the standard six to eight weeks holidays over this period. Perhaps it is because of the lost time throughout the year from Covid, not on my build but others. The Site Manager told me that other builds he started a couple of months ago with the slab pour, that are not bushfire rebuilds, are at a similar state of completion to mine. He told me that he is hoping that, if I am lucky, my new home will be completed in February, all things going well. Schrodie and I cannot wait to return home, as soon as possible.

A February completion will happen whilst I am in Antarctica. This is less than ideal and considerably problematic for me.

Although I do not yet know if my trip to Antarctica will happen, it seems to be on course (pardon the pun) as the Covid-19 situation in South America seems to have improved, thankfully. Hopefully it has improved everywhere and people will be safer across the World. I do not even have a bag. I am so unprepared. I do not know if I am strong enough to withstand and hopefully enjoy the journey or the experience. Oh my! Eighty one days is not much time. Oh my! There is so much to do until then, on all fronts.

Today, I am enjoying a light meal of fried eggs, in olive oil, with toast. This is delicious, easy, simple and nutritious comfort food that will give me my two carbohydrate counts for my meal. I might have some leftover spaghetti heated in some butter later, if I am hungry. I hope so but I doubt it.

My trip to Sydney this week to see my Specialist at the Women’s Hospital was pretty quick and easy. Without my Covid-19 vaccination certificate I could not enter the hospital or see my Specialist. It was a new doctor. He is the new Director of the Clinic, taking over from my previous doctor. My results were good and next year I will be discharged after twenty two years. I am happy and glad to be safe. I will be grateful for less Medical appointments and hospital visits. The discharge is more about money than care. Nevertheless it is a positive step forward and will be another chapter closed. I became incredibly emotional during my appointment as I believe that my current circumstances have left me anxious about hidden dangers. I understand and know the impact of the terrible stress caused by the build is having on my body and the ever present dangers this brings to me. I store emotional and psychological trauma in my body and it manifests in serious illness. I am trying consciously to avoid and change this reality, hard and seemingly impossible as this is right now. I couldn’t find my copy of the Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate on my phone and rang the Medical Centre, who emailed me a copy, for which I was grateful. 

My favourite Japanese place was open and I enjoyed a light, teriyaki fish Bento Box with Miso soup for lunch. Miso soup, as ever, was comforting and restorative. This was my first fish teriyaki and it was tender, succulent and delicious as was the rest of my meal. The meals are inexpensive and excellent value for money and always delicious. I hope this week’s trip for my hair cut is similar. I hope the crowds are not in force when I am at Bondi Junction.

I have made an appointment for a Pink Slip to enable me to register my car. I had the tyres checked in case this became an issue stopping the Pink Slip authority. Luckily at one hundred thousand kilometres my Goodyear tyres still have plenty of tread. I had the new tyre order on standby thanks to the fabulous team at Beaurepairs Goulburn. Having my tyres fitted, the first since I had purchased the car, and at one hundred and fifteen thousand kilometres, four years ago, was my last visit to Goulburn. I will return when I need my new tyres. Spending the extra money on better tyres is worthwhile and critical to me as I spend so much time on the road. Crisis averted. Problems solved. I always allow myself about a month to ensure everything is in place for Registration and Insurances. My scheduled car service can wait until next year. I was assured that this does not impact my Pink Slip. What a relief, on many fronts.

These are some of the highlights of this week. Thank you for your company. As always, I hope that you leave Schrodie’s Mummy a little better than when you arrived. I hope that my sharing my journey helps you with yours in some way. Stay strong and hang in there no matter what trauma, challenges or adversity that you face. I hope that my posts and pages help you in some way, interest you, make you smile or laugh. Most especially may these and your visits to Schrodie’s Mummy inspire and motivate you upon your journey. This is the only reason that I share this with you.

Do one small thing every day that makes you laugh and something to put joy in your heart and sustain you on your path. Please refer anyone who you believe will benefit from visiting us here at Schrodie’s Mummy.

Take care, stay happy and well.

I will continue to post on Sunday or as close to, as life allows. Pages will be added on Wednesday and Friday.

Bye for now.

Watch this space...