THIS TOO SHALL PASS - I'M HOME

So, its been a busy couple of weeks. The girls are safely moved into their new rental which is a lot nicer than the old one and has a lot of room. So hopefully they will be happy there because I'm not helping anyone move again for a very long time. What a job!

With that over, it was time to revert to medical nonsense. As its almost time for a checkup with one of my specialists off I went for the required CT scan. It went well but suddenly at the end I started to feel most unwell and started to react to the dye they had injected into me. They said it was a mild anaphylaxis. Oh my God! I never do anything the easy way. I ended up having to spend a few hours in the observation ward before being allowed to leave. The doctor said he had never seen a reaction like the one I had. Hahahahaha ...nothing new there.

When I was  finally allowed to leave I headed off down to the carpark and went to pay. There for all to see was a sign I swear wasn't there on my way up - "does not accept credit cards". Now I don't carry much cash on me as a rule and having been for lunch with a girlfriend prior to coming for my scan, I was low on coins. I couldn't believe it! But within a couple of seconds every person in the queue had put their hands in their pockets and given me a few coins to pay my parking. I was overwhelmed by their kindness and ever so grateful that there are good people in this world.

Yesterday it was time to drive home to see my husband and rest. After an operation, a drain I carried for five days, an adverse reaction to a CT scan and a big move, it was time to go home to my own house. I was feeling unwell but the drive had to happen. (Remember I live four and a half hours from my children so its a long drive.) It was a spectacular day weather wise (so that helped) and I saw my favourite emu by the side of the road so I managed the trip OK.

But by the time I got home I was absolutely exhausted. I felt worse. I felt burning on my back. I was drained. Checking in the mirror my worst fears were confirmed - shingles on my back. Like I said I don't do anything the easy way. Bed for me and a long sleep for 4 hours!

The husband came home and we had dinner. He then wanted to go for a quick drive to get the paper and I said I would go with him. I still felt exhausted but sort of felt he wanted the company and thought it wouldn't hurt me.

After a quick drive around we came back home to get ready for bed. And that's when we realised we had left the house keys at home. We had no way of getting into the house. My husband was totally and utterly unimpressed and claimed that he was getting too old to try and break into his own home. As it was after 9pm it also wasn't safe. We decided to go check into a motel and sort it out in the morning.

Every single motel in this damn town was SHUT. The husband by this stage was getting angrier and angrier. I suggested we sleep in the car till the morning and hoped my bladder would last. He was horrified. My husband loves his pillow more than me sometimes.

More accurate than you think

With about 5% charge left on my mobile, I finally managed to locate an after hours locksmith. He said it would take him an hour to get to us. I wondered if he was going to have a quick nap first because really what the hell would hold him up an hour that late at night?

Finally at 11pm he arrived. It took him 5 seconds and cost me $150. Normally I have no money ( as I said above ) but luckily this time I did, because he required immediate payment.

Grumpy husband put to bed.
Shingle Suzi put to bed.

Rocky start to my return home, but this too shall pass...and it gave me something to write about!

Till next time...xxx

FEMALE INSPIRATION

It was interesting to see all the media yesterday focus on International Women's Day. There were the accolades to women who deserve them ( Princess Diana, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson etc )  and reading these accolades led to a very interesting discussion with my husband.

My husband is one of seven but is the only boy. He has grown up surrounded by women and is the father of two daughters himself. I was interested in which women he finds inspirational and I have to say his answers impressed me as they were not whom I thought he would choose.

His choices:

1. MalalaYousafzai- a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. 
2. Julie Bishop -  Australian minister for foreign affairs



Dr Fiona Wood

3. Fiona Wood - Plastic surgeon specialising in burns victims 

This conversation obviously got me thinking about the women who had left a lasting impact on my life. I came up with a totally different list.

1. A nun at my school in Malta (name long forgotten) who taught my class about the importance of helping others and who made a big deal of us when my friends and I raised a tiny amount of money for a local orphanage. We would have been about seven and she brought the local priest in to compliment us.
2. A girl at the first school I attended in Sydney who sniggered at my intelligent answer to a teacher's question and fired in me a desire to do well always. She thought I was a dumb migrant. I thought she was dumb full stop.
3. My first piano teacher, a lady by the name of Pam Veary, who taught me to appreciate music.
4. My maths and Italian teachers at school - Jocelyn Quirke and Marina Chenaux - who also taught me to strive high and to " do as they said and not necessarily as they did".
5. My final teaching practicum supervisor Ms Hardacre who told me I would be a good teacher but not to burn out. ( she must have had a magic ball).

But there are other images that come to mind which remind me of the reality that my life is indeed one of privilege and one which requires service to others.

1. The women who worked in a carpet factory I visited in Tunisia . One caught my eye and smiled and when her supervisor wasn't watching I handed her some money. I have never seen money disappear down someone's shirt front so quickly.
2. A young 12 year old girl I met in Bali in 2010 who  melted my heart. She studied hard in the mornings and helped her parents selling postcards in the afternoon. I wish I had the ability to find her again.
3. Nina, a Balinese beauty therapist who despite her simple life, still reaches out and gives what she can to a young mother less girl in her village.
4. The homeless girl in Perth city. She looks like she's on drugs but she was also hungry and I cant stand seeing hungry kids. I bought her breakfast and she devoured it. Why do we have this problem in Perth?Why are our kids hungry?
5. +Ernie Dingo's mother who visited my classroom many years ago. She was one of the most mesmerising women I have ever met and she had my rowdy bunch of indigenous girls under control with one look. Moral of the story - family and keeping tabs on each other.

So, there you have it. That's my take on International women's day.  While we may give accolades to people who rightly deserve them, its important to remember there is so much more to be done in this world, where women are concerned.

Till next time...xxx

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#1000 SPEAK - 1000 VOICES FOR COMPASSION

On February 20, 2015, 1000 Voices For Compassion will share their thoughts and stories about compassion in all its forms (love, kindness, understanding, empathy, mercy, etc.). I am so excited to be part of this, because in the last few years I have been on the receiving end of so many acts of compassion, a couple of which I would like to share today.

One of the stories which comes to mind occurred when Ashton was in grade 1. She was 6 years old and was suffering from terrible asthma and recurring pneumonia. At one stage I felt so desperate because the GP just did not seem to understand how sick Ashton really was and was limited help. So, I placed a call to the paedatrician in Perth and told him about my worries. I actually sobbed my heart out because he was so kind and attentive. He told us to come straight to Perth ( 4 1/2 hrs away) and Mark, my husband left with Ashton within the hour.That's a big job, to drive for that length of time with a very sick child.

Why didn't I go? Well at the time I was a Home Economics teacher and my students and I were in the middle of preparing to cater for a big function. This was a big assessment piece which needed me there and I just could not leave until it was over. So, the plan was that Mark would go down with Ashton to the paediatrician and I would fly down with Ciara (age 3)  when the function was over.

I was exhausted beyond belief. For the two weeks leading up to this I had very little sleep - kids always want Mum at night! On the days the GP had actually hospitalised her I had been sleeping at the hospital and leaving for work from there. I would then return to the hospital after work. My house was a disaster zone. Neither one of us had the time nor the energy to cope with anything other than the kids and some work.

With the function successfully over and with Ashton admitted to the children's hospital in Perth, I started to pack to join them. I felt terrible not being with my child but was making the best of the situation. At 8 pm, while I was bathing Ciara my doorbell rang. Being past exhaustion I hoped it wasn't a social visitor who would require a cup of tea and time I didn't have.

It was a visitor, my colleague Kate whom I had seen at work that very day. But, she wasn't there to be entertained. She was there to help.

In the next two hours she cleaned my house from top to bottom, helped me pack clothes for myself and my daughter and made me coffee and food. She joked about my fridge, telling me she never knew I had an interest in cultivating bacteria. I should have been so embarrassed but I wasn't. Her compassion overwhelmed me and I left for Perth in the morning with a spotlessly clean house and a place in my heart that will always be hers. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me.

Ashton spent 8 days in Princess Margaret Hospital.My mother's intuition was right, she was very ill. We booked into a nearby hotel we couldn't really afford, so that we could  be close to our girl. It was the worst hotel I had ever stayed in but we had no choice as it was the closest to the hospital. Over the eight 
days Mark and I worked in shifts. One night he would sleep upright in a chair near Ashton's hospital bed and I would spend the night in the hotel with Ciara. The next night we would swap. Ciara screamed non stopped for whichever parent wasn't there. She was terrified and so was I by the drunken shouts from adjacent rooms.

When Ashton was finally discharged, we went to pay the bill at the hotel only to find that some compassionate human being had paid the bill for us. Now, I'm pretty sure I know who did it but she never admitted it. The fact that we didn't have to pay for that accommodation saved us, because as I had been off work I wasn't getting paid and we really had very little money.

Over the years as our health issues amplified there were many other examples of compassion. To me compassion is being empathetic. It means showing people in some way that you get their situation and you're on their side. It means going out of your way to make life better for someone else.

During my teaching, I often did a " pay it forward" project. If you haven't seen that movie you should. I found that the kids I taught, often from low socioeconomic backgrounds absolutely thrived from showing compassion; by doing good deeds for others and forgetting about their own situations for a while. One year for Mothers Day we made hampers of goodies for older women in the community who deserved a treat. The compassion and the love that went into these works of art was amazing! The tears on the kids' faces when they realised they had caused this happiness was priceless.

A little compassion in a world hell bent on negativity and bad news goes a long way. Try incorporating it into your life on a regular basis and always remember to pay it forward. Sometimes all it takes is a simple smile at someone to show you care and wish them well.


C  O  M  P  A  S  S  I  O  N

Till next time...xxx

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ST

GIVING PLEASURE TO OTHERS

There is a cute little shop in this city called " Sugarplum Sweets" which makes lemon meringue cupcakes that are to die for. The girls and I went there for afternoon tea and I had one which had just been made. Gooey meringue, tangy lemon curd  and cake so fresh it collapsed in my hands and was shovelled straight into my mouth. I was in heaven.

The ability to create something, edible or otherwise, which gives pleasure to people is a gift. This morning I had breakfast with one of my oldest friends Anna. She is one of the most talented people I know. Not only is she an experienced teacher, she is also a published author of plays and songs for children. She has recently been commissioned to write a school song for a new college in Perth and this will be her third time doing such a job, such is her talent.

My big thrill today was to find out that an online Canadian chiropractic magazine had listed my blog under Arts and Entertainment. I am honoured that my writing is entertaining enough to receive this honour, even though the subject matter can be quite tense at times. Maybe it's an omen - first an online magazine, then a book publisher. Watch out Oprah and Ellen! Regardless, I am pleased that my writing gave sufficient pleasure to someone to be chosen.

http://paper.li/DrRichardKjaer/1313554978

And then there was the radio announcer, Ben Fordham, who responded to Ashton's tweet to ask his listeners to pray for her in the lead up to her 14th surgery on Friday. Such a simple task, which when completed gave her such happiness and pleasure and filled my eyes with tears of joy. He could have ignored it, but he didn't.

It really doesn't take much to make people happy and give them pleasure.

My greatest pleasure this week would be knowing that Ashton's surgery is successful. I pray for God to guide the doctors' hands and for our gift to be her improved health.


Till next time...xxxxxxxxxxxx