Friday, May 11, 2012

One day in the city.

Yesterday morning started off just like any other Thursday morning. The same scramble for clothes and bits of uniform, the same porridge and coffee for breakfast, the same hair plaiting, lunch making and drive to school. And yesterday morning there were only annoying songs on the radio, bad drivers in front of me and only bills in the mail. 

I drove home from school dreaming of adventures but was greeted at the door by the reality of Miss Indi with a head ache on the couch, Miss Pepper DESPERATE for a pick up sticks partner, farmer Bren and the boys busy with the shed raising and a house that looked like a bomb had gone off inside.

Something inside me snapped! I couldn't breathe.

I could not spend the day cleaning and cooking and looking after people. I JUST COULDN'T!!

So I bundled the girls into the car and we drove to Melbourne.

This was NOT going to be a Groundhog day!

And the closer we got to the big smoke, the free-er I felt. Like I could breathe. Like I was a person and not just a look-er-afterer-er.
We almost got lost about 20 times, we laughed that my big fat country car was too big and fat for the city, we freaked out about it getting stuck in an underground car park, we hung out with my city Mum and my city sister, we drank great coffee in the coolest cafes, we walked graffiti lane ways, we ate sushi and croissants, we sorted through Emily's op shop pile and drank fizzy drinks at her work. We had a ball.
Miss Pepper told me she had dreamed of the big city and felt like her dreams were coming true. She skipped down the streets and marvelled at all the people and shops and things.

Miss Indi cried with joy at the news of One Direction tickets, totally rocked Emily's cast offs and looked so much better than she had on the couch at home.

And I felt like I'd had a holiday from my real life. Like I'd seen new sights. Like I'd spent the day living life rather than just checking things off a list. Like I was inspired all over again.
On the way home to Daylesford Miss Pepper slept, Indi and I laughed at the radio and a tiny anxious butterfly danced inside me afraid of the chaos I would find at home. The chaos I had not coped with that morning. The chaos that had the power to erase the joys of the day.

But the exact opposite happened.

We drove up at twilight and found my farmer boy, my Jazzy, a bonfire and a barbecue feast. It seemed they had needed a bit of a break from the usual too and had spent the afternoon preparing. A more wonderful homecoming I could not imagine.

We caught up and told the stories of our days, we ate, we played games, toasted marshmallows and we laughed a lot.

And after the girls went to bed I sat up in bed with my darling and knitted a sleeve.

I must remember to not be so bogged down by the everyday. To be more spontaneous. To chuck the have to's and routines out the window every now and then.

Today I've woken up happy to be here and totally inspired.  I can see the beauty again. One day in the city was as good as a holiday.

So how about you?
Does the same, same, sameness of your life sometimes make you want to scream?
Do you ever feel the need to leave it all behind and have a break from your world?
When was the last time you said stuff it and headed for the hills?
Where do you go and what do you do to refuel?


I hope you have the happiest weekend!
xx

ps hugest love and thanks to you @writerbee and you @mililala and you @dayorganics xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

49 comments:

  1. OK. Am crying right now . So get this. Glad you had a great day out and came home to feel like HOME - So, so get this right now.
    Carmel
    x

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  2. What a beautiful post! I'm glad you enjoyed your day.
    I live right near the Yarra Valley and escape there when it's all too boring/much here!

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  3. Isnt the everyday just too much on some days. You must have felt so happy having an adventure with the girls, and it will probably be one that they remember too. I think I need to do that every now and then when life gets too anxious. Sounds as though you have found a solution to yours which was wonderful. Hope your not too cold where you are Kate, and that your craft is keeping you warm and happy.

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  4. This is just brilliant Kate. You make me smile.

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  5. What an inspiring post!
    I so wish we could just hope in the car to Melbourne!!
    To escape the mundane we usually bike down to the lake,
    and along the edge of it. Breathing in a different air is good.XX

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  6. You rock, lady. Thank you for being so excellent. xxx

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  7. My saviours from insanity are my buddies. A simple dinner with my girlfriends - mummies too, all of them - or a game of scrabble, glass of wine, and a piece of cake with my Hillbilly buddies keeps me going..... until the next one! In fact, I'm going on a girls' weekend soon, leaving the family at home for a couple of days. And I can't wait!!
    Love this post, Kate. Thank you for sharing! xx

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  8. Beautiful post, sometimes you just have to get away from reality... I'm in country SA but really wished I lived closer to our capital...

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  9. Brilliant Kate! What a day, and when I saw that fire on instagram last night, all ready & waiting for you I thought you were the luckiest lady around!! x

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  10. Awesome!! Such a magic day! And such a heartfelt, honest and inspiring post. May very well need to take a one day holiday in this neck of the woods. Ta so much for sharing :) x

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  11. Oh you are fabulous! I would have killed for my mum to do that with us, and you know I've never done it myself, well until I read this that is! Really it's exactly what I should have done yesterday instead of getting completely overwhelmed! Thanks for the seed of thought! xx

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  12. Have I ever mentioned how inspirational you are?

    xx

    Tas

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  13. Ahh yes, I agree! Sometimes we get so stuck in our routines that we forget to breathe & it's good to cut lose once in a while!

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  14. Totally feel the same way. It's like being trapped. I long for the day where I can just get in my car and drive out into the country again!
    Maybe we could swap?

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  15. The best advice I ever had was, "You don't have to eat off the floor, you know. Housework will wait for you. Missed opportunities to hang out with your kids can never be reclaimed." Believe me they grow and are gone so quickly. These days are treasure.
    On the big city front - Aaagh! I avoid driving through its traffic like the plague but I do love to wander and catch up with it every now and again.

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  16. Kate, you are fabulous. I feel like I'm on a ride and can't get off at the moment. Was thinking of escaping to Mum's for a few days (Melbourne). Everything will still be here if we do. not sure what I'm worried about.

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  17. Good for you! I am an old lady now, but that is EXACTLY what I did when I was a young Mother. Leave dirty dishes in the sink, beds unmade, dirty laundry in the hamper and take off for the zoo or a museum with the kids in tow. It was always easier to do my work when we returned. I always said the mess won't go anywhere and will wait for me! lol Some days just need a different "routine"! YEAH!!!

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  18. Good on you,my house is a mess but being one armed for a little while, I have to get past it and find something to cheer me up for like you everyday is a sucking void

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  19. Love this post!

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  20. You know, you are really living. This is it-we don't get our days back. I'm so glad you took off and went with your heart. I echo the thoughts of the others. You truly are inspirational! Your road trip was inspiring enough but your at home life is brilliant! Thanks for sharing bits with us. Love Penny L in Dorset uk

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  21. Excellent post. What a great day and a great evening. We always escape for a walk along the beach at times like this.

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  22. Sounds like a truly fantastic day - and much needed by you all.
    A important day away with your girls, one that they'll surely remember.
    A really lovely and inspiring post. Thank you.

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  23. At my place the same same sameness of cooking for kids with food allergies drives me BONKERS. The best treat is when my mum cooks instead of me and I get to sneak out with hubby and eat pizza. Your day looked wonderful. Was Jazzy cranky she was left out at school? melx

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  24. LOVE this! What a fabulous day for everyone...thank goodness you not only heard the call of the wild, but answered it! It's a good reminder to me, so easy to get bogged in it all. thank you

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  25. Yes! Yes I have those days (perhaps too often) where I say hell no to Groundhog Day and lets do something frivolous and fun instead. Sometimes I really wish I was in day-trip distance of a major city. Some place with whole areas dedicated to particular cuisines. Mmmmmm.....Chinatown! We moved from Sydney 4 years ago to an area 45 minutes drive from Coffs Harbour and although there are plenty of great outdoorsy things to do, I would kill, KILL for a genuine laksa, yum cha, tapas. Authentic flavours. I love where I live but occasionally I want to get a fix of that city buzz. That feeling of so much going on, so much colour, movement. So much to look at. And every time I do make it to the city or go anywhere for a couple of days, I come home and appreciate it all the more. For a while I stop seeing just what needs to be done around the place (we're still building our house and farm) and I see how great what we already have is.
    High fives for blogging straight from the heart, or hip because that sounds cooler. I've just started my own blog and once I get my head around the tech side of it I hope I can blog as naturally and fluidly as you seem to. Chantal

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  26. I have just come across you blog & I will definatley be a regular. Sometimes someones photography helps me remember the moments I need to remember & slow down to enjoy. I hope that one day hubby & I have a beautiful family like the one you have been blessed with, but for now it's us, the dog & our horse.

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  27. Yep we do the opposite we drive up your way to Daylesford. I love Melbourne I love everything about it, but part of me wants less bustle less driving more quiet. We are contemplating a tree change soon, but of late all I can think of is all that I'll miss about living here. Your post today makes me think how we all need to get out of our comfort zone, get out of the routine that is house and hopefully come back appreciating home.

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  28. I have planned an act of spontaneity for next Thursday. CK is away for work and my boy will be back after a few nights away at camp so we are going to drive the 30 miles to lovely local cinema and watch Dark Shadows. We NEVER do stuff like this. I am a routine bedtimes kind of girl.Sometimes it is just ace to step outside the box.

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  29. you are so right about how sometimes being the taker-carer just beats you down. Sometimes I find joy in it too, but you're right, the same same same of it makes me want to scream. The only worse thing is on days like today, where I am sick and there is no one to take care of ME. Just the same darn dishes in the sink from yesterday.

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  30. I just returned from a little trip down to Boston to see Regina Spektor in concert. My husband took a night off work so that I could have this getaway. I traveled down with friends and after the concert crashed at their house. It felt kind of like college all over again. It was the shake up from my day-to-day stay-at-home Mumma routine. Now that I am back home I don;t even mind the dirty dishes or the floor that badly needs sweeping.

    I can totally relate to this post. :)

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  31. funny because you coming to town was exactly what I needed! filled my bucket right up. thanks for giving me the best day! X X X X X X

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  32. I dream of escaping so often but from now on I am just going to do it - thank you!

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  33. can i relate? yes.
    city goodness? yes!
    longing for the country? yes!
    going through lots of checklists? yes!
    trying to remember all the good things? yes.
    really enjoying your blog? yes.
    : )

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  34. Kate...
    Love the "Granny Carpet"...I think that would make me smile everyday if I had that through my house...
    P.S...I know what you mean...Sometimes you need to step back from it all...

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  35. What a beautiful post and what lovely photos of your time in Melbourne. I can most certainly relate to your post. I am constantly being bogged down by the things I need to do for myself and others and forgetting to live. I am so not good at being spontaneous but you post is just what I needed to see. Road trip to Daylesford for bowls of coffee and mouthwatering pizza might be just what the doctor ordered.

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  36. This sounds like an awesome day. Good for you.

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  37. Good on you for grabbing it with both hands instead of just dreaming about it like I'm often doing!

    Cheers
    Selby

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  38. thats really my kind of happy story....and one day im going to say stuff it and zoom on over in the direction of your place :-)
    x

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  39. Beautiful sentiments, great to turn of the auto pilot and pull an adventure out of the box. I love that Melbourne is only an hour away.

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  40. So glad you had such a great day! It made me laugh because here I am stuck in the rat race in Sydney and all I can dream about is the hills and getting out into the country! It seems us mums every so often just need a change of scenery no matter where we are. I got my fix yesteray in the blue mountains and got to spend the day wih my two girls breathing in the fresh mountain air and taking in the beautiful autumn colours. Somehow a change of scene makes the routine at home seem a little lighter when we come back home recharged and re-energised. Here's to being spontaneous! Hope you have a gorgeous day, Cris from Syd............

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  41. What a lovely adventure, Kate. Your blog posts always get us thinking. We love a good daytrip!

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  42. I wish I was closer to the city some days so i could do that.

    I feel not like I am in ground hog day but more like I have this big clock ticking over my head and the million things I need to do before October- like have a shed built , have inside it insulated and painted and shelving etc built then move everything out there then paint this room that is now my spot and prepare it for the new tenant, who I want to be able to drop everything for when he/she arrives....

    ugh. but saying that i think I need a holiday.

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  43. Best post everrrrrrrrr......I ,like a bazillion others,can relate to this! Round and round on that little mousey wheel.. sometimes its just..ugh !!Glad you had a FAB escape !! Your family is getting VERY Enid Blyton Kate !! (jealous)

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  44. An excellent post, very cheering. I wish I'd played hooky more often, good to be reminded I still can!

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  45. Thanks Kate for this post. In all honesty I woke up this morning and felt like I was going crazy inside. I read your post and I thought to myself why not just opt out of life ... just for a little while. So, we let go of our usual commitments (with a wave of guilt) and headed to the beach. And, you know what? It has been the best thing for us. Thank you x

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  46. This sounds like such a nice day! x

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