Beauty 365 … Stories of Love and Life for Everyday

I’ve never been one for self-pity. Calling for the pity of others is likewise not in my fabric. Having said that, however, Day 31 brought with it an epiphany that I wish to share with you, dear reader. It came to me as we were sitting around the table on our verandah, enjoying a long lunch of pizza and red wine, celebrating the birthday of my husband … My life has been dominated by football.

Day 31, had it not been interrupted by the virus, would have involved three games of football; the game of my thirteen year old in the morning, my sixteen year old in the afternoon, then we would have raced home to watch the Hawks. Is that your idea of a lovely Sunday?

But its not a new story in my life. Even when I was small, football took precedence. Two brothers flanked me both sides, so back yard footy was pretty much compulsory. On a Saturday nights, ‘Young Talent Time’ always got bumped for the footy replays. That one still hurts!!

Of course, things weren’t helped along when I fell in love with, and married, a professional footballer! (Pictured, in his heyday!) Our wedding, our work, our holidays, all revolved around the football. We didn’t sneeze without consulting the coach first. And people always wanted to talk football. They still do really, even after all these years. Even the births of our babies were dominated by football, the obstetrician wanting to engage my husband in chatter about glorious goals and wild football personalities.

These lock-down days, I don’t miss muddy boots, standing for hours in the freezing cold, watching my kids get whacked by thugs, footy training runs, bad moods after a loss, hours of pouring over stats, arguments about which TV games we should watch, or last minute searches for missing mouth guards!

There! I feel better after that good whinge!

In reality, I will embrace it all with relish when it starts up again. After all, I’m a Melbourne girl, I’m a Hawk through and through, and I’m a Lawrence. Footy is my destiny.