Domestic duties
Op shop gold
What they don't tell you in Parenting 101
JUST GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES
December 04, 2009KAYE Loves Vintage asked, late last month, what readers would do with five minutes. Her wish list included reading a magazine, having a coffee, eating a biscuit, reading her mail and making a phone call. I know exactly how she feels. My family is gearing up for more changes in 2010.
My partner is starting the second year of full-time external study, which, I add, is being done on top of full-time work and general household/family duties. We’re over the shock of the first year and think we’ve settled into a routine.
Step-daughter No.3 finished high school this year and life stretches before her as a big adventure, but there’s no real plan. No doubt we’ll be spending time helping her navigate her choices. Step-daughter No.2 is in her third year of university study but is wavering, and again there are life choices to be thought through.
Step-daughter No.1 (numbering is a tradition of my father: I was No.1, my sister No.2, in order of birth, of course) is living out of home and entering her third year of study, but has been thrown a summer school curve ball, which means more study and less income. She’s managing OK, but it’s a hiccup.
Step-son No.1 (step-child No.4, if you’re wondering) is puddling along with the normal ups and downs of being in his mid-teens. He seems to be weathering the trials and tribulations of the age well, but, you know, he turns 16 next year. I’m never prepared to second-guess what a teenager can throw at you.
Me? You know, there’s full-time work, a series of op shop tours to plan … and … I’m heading back to lead a Girl Guide unit, the same one I took a big break from this year. The organisation celebrates 100 years next year. I can’t miss that. Oh, and another woman has stepped forward to help lead it. Fresh blood. Yah.
So, back to that five minutes … hmmmm.
PS: The watch is a 1980s McSwatch bought for $4.99 from eBay. The earrings are a little more ‘80s love, bought for $2 from Lifeline and the Linda Jackson book was from a beachside market, bought for $4.
My partner is starting the second year of full-time external study, which, I add, is being done on top of full-time work and general household/family duties. We’re over the shock of the first year and think we’ve settled into a routine.
Step-daughter No.3 finished high school this year and life stretches before her as a big adventure, but there’s no real plan. No doubt we’ll be spending time helping her navigate her choices. Step-daughter No.2 is in her third year of university study but is wavering, and again there are life choices to be thought through.
Step-daughter No.1 (numbering is a tradition of my father: I was No.1, my sister No.2, in order of birth, of course) is living out of home and entering her third year of study, but has been thrown a summer school curve ball, which means more study and less income. She’s managing OK, but it’s a hiccup.
Step-son No.1 (step-child No.4, if you’re wondering) is puddling along with the normal ups and downs of being in his mid-teens. He seems to be weathering the trials and tribulations of the age well, but, you know, he turns 16 next year. I’m never prepared to second-guess what a teenager can throw at you.
Me? You know, there’s full-time work, a series of op shop tours to plan … and … I’m heading back to lead a Girl Guide unit, the same one I took a big break from this year. The organisation celebrates 100 years next year. I can’t miss that. Oh, and another woman has stepped forward to help lead it. Fresh blood. Yah.
So, back to that five minutes … hmmmm.
PS: The watch is a 1980s McSwatch bought for $4.99 from eBay. The earrings are a little more ‘80s love, bought for $2 from Lifeline and the Linda Jackson book was from a beachside market, bought for $4.
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