Beauty 365 … Stories of Love and Life for Everyday

There is a phenomenon in our family, known affectionately as ‘lamenting’, which occurs precisely 24 hours before each scheduled departure from our beloved Phillip Island. My husband in particular is quite susceptible to it. ‘Lamenting’ involves a violent pining for the place from which we haven’t yet left, wishing our holiday could have been longer, wanting to put off the return to work and school, and making various plans to actually live on the Island permanently!

On day 17, we did manage to extricate ourselves but the ‘lamenting’ was somewhat downgraded this time. Firstly, cold, wet and windy weather made the prospect of swims and walks unlikely, and in fact turned our minds to our lovely fireplace back in Melbourne. Secondly, and more significantly, leaving the Island didn’t mean that we would all be dispersing, losing kids interstate, or returning to our busy commitment-packed lives.

Last year, numbers were low in our house. With three children living in Sydney and a daughter in Rome, we were down to a household of four. It took some adjustment. In fact, I never got used to cooking small meals; half went into the freezer! Our thirteen-year-old took to calling us a ‘pathetic’ family, because to him, it felt so depleted, and oh, so quiet.

Happily, the company of two of the Sydney-siders and our daughter, who has returned from Rome, will bolster us during these lock-down days. Our arrival in Melbourne involved making room for the extras: changing the study into a bedroom and moving furniture to set up adequate space in anticipation for online studies.

I guess as parents, we are always making room - making room for friends around our table, and making room to hear the voice of God in our lives. Now, in anticipation for our oldest daughter’s upcoming wedding, we are making room in our hearts for her wonderful fiancé… Our family is growing!