My friend was away so I took an early morning walk around the harbour, instead of our usual trek on the weekend.
It was glorious so see the city without the crowds.
My main aim was to see Mushrooms - the installation outside the MCA.
It was sobering, a little depressing (we never learn and are so wasteful of human life) but also quite surreal with the beautiful background.
Further detail on the art and artist here.
I'm at a gig in the Domain this weekend and am now wondering how muddy it will be.
There's been 43 people bitten by bats on the Central Coast and in the Hunter as they are staving to death and fall to the ground (and they try to help them - leave it to the vaccinated professionals as they have a type of rabies that can't be treated once the symptoms start - so if you do get bitten, go straight to hospital). The dengue fever in Florida and the rise in bear attacks in Japan are all in part due to climate change.
We will die a slow death due to unforeseen effects.
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| Linking with #WildBirdWednesday |
There are ties with the US (airbase) celebrated.
I had been stumped by this prompt, and was just going to share 'my best birthday ever' post but someone posted on twitter 'is it wrong to celebrate your birthday over 30?'. I thought this was such a weird and sad attitude. My response was along the lines of 'There's so much wrong in the world and difficulties in life will amass to an at times overwhelming rate, you should celebrate every little thing you can'.
My 50th party, I had the best time partying with all my friends, but a lot of my friends also had the best time (I'm sure there were some that didn't but there was much dancing and merriment & people stayed late, so that's got to be a sign).
My kids have parties for their birthday and people swarm the house and sleep over (the young not being able to afford ubers) so the dusty crowd littered in the lounge room are smiles when they wake.
I think we think celebrating a birthday is about us, but it's about having a good time with those we love. Or indulging some money in doing something that you love - tickets to a show or doing something else you wouldn't normally spend the money on. It's a justifiable excuse, that's all!
And let's face it, given the state of the world and the myriad of health issues that might appear at any time, surviving a year is something to celebrate - and if it's been a bad year? Celebrate the new year to come! It's daft to think only children should celebrate their birth. The older you get, the more you've achieved just to be alive, the harder life has been for you and your friends - so offer some solace, a brief moment of fun and frivolity. You don't need gifts or cause anyone expense, it just needs to be a celebration - whatever form that takes - tea and cake, bowling, a dinner, a party. Whatever is a rare but good time for you all! (Or just for you, if the expense is too much to extend to others - I went to WOMAD one year for my birthday present to see my favourite band from Europe, who I'd never seen before - it was one of the most magical days for me & still makes me smile, but with the kids and the cost, my husband stayed home).
So think of your birthday celebration as merely making more memories, for that is indeed exactly what it is!
"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate". Oprah Winfrey
Linking with #TellUsAbout #TalkaboutitTuesday #TrafficJamReboot #SeniorSalonPitstop and #HappyNow - celebrate because it makes you happy! That's reason enough!
84, 000 kids sit the HSC this month, starting Tuesday.
This is just a reminder to all those kids (and the parents of those kids) that it really only matters for the three or so months after you finish school. It doesn't change your life, just the very next step. Do you go straight into the course you want at the Uni of your choice or do you take a more scenic route? Or in the case of one of my friend's kids, do you scramble to get into a course that you thought wouldn't be an option for you, when your mark exceeded the predictions of your life long learning difficulties?
The HSC doesn't measure smartness, just persistence and application. The ATAR is merely the cut off due to demand of places in a course (Not how smart you have to be to do the course). If you miss out on your dream, most Universities have a day in Dec or Jan where you tell them your mark and they build a pathway to get into your course eventually.
A reminder to parents to celebrate the child that has finished school, and the world opening doors for their shiny adult life that awaits.
To the kids, whatever you do next, further learning, apprenticeship, training or working - enjoy it. Your life is going to change in so many ways - speak up when it's scary or overwhelming, well adjusted adults do that, but mostly, appreciate this exciting time. Opportunities, new responsibilities, new friends or meeting new people, maybe even a new home.
This is a sparkling time in your life when the world is your oyster. Don't let exam stress (or societal pressure) take that away from you.
The photo is from the Archibald, Sulman and Wynn exhibition - if you know the artist, please let me know so I can credit it. But kids, you now follow the sign posts of your making.
Good luck, do your best and remember it's not the be all and end all, it's just the beginning!
Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post.
Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.
We were given this tiny plant in a pot when we moved in from friends (parents of friends) and we planted it and it's enormous. Those friends are now dead, but I thought how lovely it was to be reminded of them each year. When the plant blooms, I always think about some of our lovely times together. It keeps them front of mind. As Thomas Campbell said "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
Next to this plant is a Japanese Maple, given to us by my parents who went to a wedding and were told to plant a tree rather than give a gift. My dad has since died, and I realised I had a little corner of the garden which is full of memorial plants, so to speak.
There is also a bougainvillea from my sister and while she is alive, in time, it may also become one. Out the front we have gardenias from my sister in law.
None of these plants were given as something to remember them by, it's just what they become as they flourish over years.
I guess it's a reason to give people plants. Sturdy plants that will survive with little care. Like the relationships they represent - just loved and tended from time to time, not work or difficult, which over the years adds up to a lot.
"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us". Helen Keller.
Linking with #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto #TalkaboutitTuesday #SeniorSalonPitstop and a strange one for #HappyTuesday because while it is about loss, it did make me happy to look around and remember some wonderful times and feel a closeness to those people now gone.
