What we learnt at Country Week

It may just sound like a week of playing soccer in rain, hail and shine.....but is so much more....
It's about 

*Mateship

*Making new friends that quick become team mates

* Learning to give respect to those who give so much of their time

*That rain and cold are no deterrent  to 12 and 13 year olds

*That our state is a big place and there are a whole bunch of other kids that are passionate about soccer too

*Having your mum as the team manager is not as bad as your son first thought.

*That sometimes you win and sometimes it is more about how you play the game

*It is vital to fill a young mans world with good male role models

*Dads are better at analyzing a game of soccer than mums 

*Haircuts and coloured hair spray are the best fun you could add to playing the game

* That we would do it all over again ...after a few days of catching our breathe.
 
 

Helping out

First day of school holidays today....it has been another busy and fast paced term.

We had a little sunshine today amongst some pretty shocking weather this week....so the suggestion was made to our 12 year old that he help out dad in the garden for a while....

As you can imagine he jumped with glee and was right on the job....or not.

After some debating it was agreed that he would and he did a great job helping his dad out.

So how much helping out should be required from a tween? Were we  too tough on the first day of holidays?  

All in the name of teaching some life skills ......

Liquid gold from our backyard

We had the most unexpected fun day today....

What was going to be just a look at seeing if there was enough honey to collect off our hive ....turned into a fun lesson on the hive to the jar journey

What a beautiful and yet organically simple process.

Pure natural runny honey....straight  from our bees in our garden to pots and pots of gold...

10Kg of honey was collected.   

Now we only home the hive ...we have a fantastic hive manager and he does all the hard work and then we gift him all but our tenth of the honey collect....it is the least we can do for allowing us to share in this most beautiful process. 

 

Soccer Life

Can I say that being part of a winning team makes all the difference.....but you already knew that right?

This is our fifth season of being a soccer family.....and that season just came to an end. 

This was the first season in that five that we have had any noteworthy success....
 

Carnival day today and we made it all the way to the semi finals ....I say we because it really does take a team of family members to make it all happen.

Months of 7.00am Saturday starts ...rain  or shine.......requires all of us to be on board.

A great dedicated coach and team members that become friends....are the other pieces to having success.

Glad to have some slow Saturday mornings back but will miss that opportunity to encourage, cheer and say well done to our boy....

Dear Me.....

Dear Sixteen Year Old Me …….

Hey being 16 is a precious age….right on the edge of being all grown up yet still young enough to enjoy being a child…

I know that right now school is a tricky place to man-oeuvre – the friendships, the pressure to work hard and study and  to achieve good grades and earn that first bit of "own money". Just know that it will be over so quickly.

 Being an average grade student is OK and that goal you’ve held onto for so long  - to be a teacher- you will get there and  it will be worth all the sacrifice. Remember to thank your parents for all their encouragement, the fuel they put in your car, the meals and the boundaries they put into place….they really do know best and have your best interests at heart. 

That boy that you agreed to “go out with” a few months ago the one who became your first boyfriend---he’s a keeper for sure. Yes he is wildly different to you- quiet, introverted, strangely attracted to loud rock music, all things opposite to you.  But he will be your rock and together you will face some huge challenges together – and I know you won’t believe this but you will grow to be more like each other than you ever could imagine, you will learn to understand his ways and your differences will be what cement you strong…. you will grow to understand and appreciate his passion for that loud rock music too.

Mum will love him too even though he stirs her hugely.

Five years may seem a life time to be dating someone but trust me this will form the firm foundation on which you do life together.

Embrace that quality to be social and friendly…even if it is your undoing at school… …it will be one of your greatest assets.  

Listen to your dad when he encourages you to work hard …..holding down all those crazy part time jobs will give you many life lessons and provide you with  a book full of stories to share….

I know you don’t have a mapped plan of what life will look or when something should happen or even where you would like to be in 34 years…trust me that’s not a bad thing. Life will be full to the brim, it will have moments to be joyful and long stretches of sadness but don’t despair at that thought, cause that boy, those parents, sisters and the many other people you gather through life will be there shouting from the sidelines , providing all the strength and encouragement you will need…and through it all the God you knew from the beginning and has always walked with you, will  remains faithful.

When the time comes to sieze an opportunity to change, move interstate and explore new beginnings – go , embrace the home sickness and cherish the new friends that come with it as they will be integral to your journey.

That family you didn’t really ever plan but knew you wanted will happen…Your first will stream roll into your lives, grab hold of your heart, change you forever and leave a forever hole when she has to go. Baby two will be precious too and she too will grow and grab your heart as she follows your advice to seize her dreams. But not before you teach her to drive …yes this is in your future and it will be a moment in time that you can never prepare  yourself for…. And just when you think “should we” …go for it.... don’t hesitate for you will be blessed with a boy that will educate you fast on all things that life with sisters and two daughters never did. 

All through this be true to you, don’t wait too long till you learn to listen to that inner voice before you know, that all you need, God has already given you.

Love those in your life fiercely as some will be gone too quickly and too soon

Don’t wait too long to know that you have wisdom to share 

Never mind about standing on scales and measuring the outward 

Be brave and travel the world earlier and discover all its  wonder and beauty

And be Ok with the fact that you are emotional and that letting things go will always be tough……

God has made you perfectly for the journey he has you on and although there are times that life is busy and that will crowd out hearing from Him and what He has to say…its OK … take time out and be still …for that’s where you will be made stronger for the next part of the journey.

Your nearly 50 year old self  xxxxx