Haley

Happy Christmas!!!

Hi everyone!! Wishing you all a very happy Christmas/holiday, wherever you may be and whoever you may be sharing it with. Well...my Christmas was very exciting, and it certainly wasn't the white Christmas I'd been expecting. More like 30 degrees heat - in SYDNEY!!!!...

Yep, I kept my visit a secret from all my family and friends and completely surprised everyone. Mum and Dad were ecstatic! Though I'd been thinking about it for quite a while, I wasn't sure myself whether it was going to happen or not until I was able to confirm my return flight just two days before I left. Leaving work on Friday I said goodbye to my mates and had the usual question "where are you off to this weekend?" and when I said Australia they all said wow, until I told them it was just for four days, then they all said I'm crazy! (Usual response). So I caught a plane home after work on Friday and arrived home at 6am Sunday, Christmas morning. I'll tell you, I was SO excited on the way there I could hardly stop myself from jumping around in my seat. After our stop in Bangkok I just wanted to get there though and felt incredibly impatient even when we arrived, rushing through customs and waiting for my bag on the turnstile, I just wanted to get home and see everyone!

Walking out the doors of the airport I felt like I had just arrived at a new tropical location for another holiday. There was a light early morning cool air mixed with the heat which was so beautiful it almost made me cry. I caught a cab from the airport home and made the driver drop me half way up the street in case someone saw the cab drive passed the window. Then I tip-toed to the doorstep and knocked on the door. Being 7am, mum was inside hiding in her dressing gown so Dad answered and got the shock of his life! Mum quickly stuck her head out from the kitchen and both of them met me with hugs and tears. Despite trying to call me for the last two days, mum hadn't suspected I'd be on my way home thank goodness, she just thought she'd missed speaking to me so she was overjoyed and thought all her Christmases had come at once! Dad was really pleased too, I've hardly ever seen him react so emotionally.

I went and woke up my big brother Dave, then thought I'd better break it to them that I was only staying for four days. Bit of a shame but I didn't have much choice with the cheap fare I was able to get for the trip home. Austravel xmas/NY specials between UK and Australia - $600 total one way. Standby is even cheaper. Excellent value! Anyone looking to travel up to Feb - check them out as they're still available.

First things first - after the inital hellos, I ran downstairs for a swim in the pool. Beautiful, even at 7:30 in the morning. My youngest-older brother Tony came over and we spent xmas morning together as a family and then went to my cousins' house for lunch which was nice to see all of them, including two families from Queensland and all the kids. It was so much more fun watching the joy in darling little Emily's face as she opened presents than opening my own. Just pulling the paper off had her in raptures!

Pretty soon after lunch I went to lie down and crashed out (great company!) I saw Tony's girlfriend Erina in the afternoon and she had a great reaction, jumping back and her whole face lit up "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Haha. Then it was looooovely to have a nice long sleep after the long flight over.

On boxing day I was so relieved to find that my best friend Emma-Lee was still in Sydney though I thought she had left on holidays, so she came over and we went out in our speedboat with Dave, Tony and Erina on the harbour to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. 30 degree heat and I was so determined to get rid of my pale English shadow and get a tan that I very stupidly put tanning oil on. Soooo silly. I somehow forgot the strength of the Australian sun. Yeah, now I don't have a typical English pale skin but an English tan (aka RED!) And tonight I notice I'm blistering. Man. Probably took ten years off my life. Grrrrrr. I find myself swearing that I'll never do that again, yet I also remember saying the same thing when I got burnt in Iticare, Brazil.

In the afternoon I was really lucky that Ness and Ben had dropped in to visit mum with their new 3 week old baby girl Mia-Lee! She's gorgeous!! I knew she was tiny but seeing her close-up and actually holding her, I realised just how small she is. Yet Ness says she's already grown 3 and a half cm since she was born. So cute. Poor Ness says she's suffering from a lack of sleep but they're doing well and say that just looking at her and realising she's theirs makes up for it.

On Tuesday mum, dad and I drove up the new expressway (fun-fun!) to the Blue Mountains to visit Nalini, a friend I used to work with quite a few years ago. She had a group of family over for lunch as well and there were a few little boys running around, jumping in the pool and dunking their heads in the dog's pool when they thought no-one was watching!

Had dinner out at my favourite Thai noodle hut/restaurant in Gladesville on Tuesday night; delicious. It's one of my frequent cravings over here. Also satisfied my craving for a boost juice smoothie on Thursday. Yum. Dropped in and saw my buddy Matt on the way home, all settled in his new love-shack with Lauren. Wow - I go away for a year and it's a bit of a shock seeing the big obvious changes when people are doing things like having kids, moving in with someone, that kind of thing. I guess it all just happens in its own time and when you notice it all at once it seems a bigger deal than when you're around watching it develop.

So that was my quick trip back home. Just a short stay but worth every minute of the 24 hour flight there and 27 hours back! Actually, even seeing mum and dad's faces on Christmas morning was worth it. I feel so loved. And lucky to have my family, friends and so many opportunities to travel.

I had a shock when we came close to landing in London, could see snow covering the ground below and arrived to a temperature of 0 degrees at midday! Here I was telling everyone naaah, London's not that cold, it's been really nice and mild. Then bang - it's freezing!!! Now I'm missing not just family and friends back in Aus, but the heat too. It's also nice to be back in my second home in London, to see my friends here and to have a few days to relax and appreciate the things I have in both places.

Though it's nice to be surrounded by material comforts at home, including a massive wardrobe of clothes and room filled with things I've accumulated but don't really need, seeing the difference between what I have here and what is at home makes me realize how much we clutter our lives with things that are unnecessary. Comparing it with the things I had while traveling and with others who live with less, I feel so selfish and self-centered when I see my life being caught up in the commercial attraction of buying things that ultimately make me look or feel as though I have a "better lifestyle". Yet the best lifestyle would be one where I don't feel I need those things to be happy or comfortable. Above all the things I found at home, it's the relationships with family and friends that are most important and luckily they're things you can keep with you wherever you are.

Surprise!!

Our baby tree and mum hiding thinking she's out of the frame!

Me and Tone

Emily looking excited!

I must say I do miss this view each day, it just makes me go aghhhh.

Davo

Me and Emma!!

Beautiful flag flying over a 225

Funny guys - YMCA in a skull

Off and racing

Introducing Mia-Lee!

Mum blissfully content holding Mia

Me and Nessa

Proud parents Ben and Vanessa with Mia

Posted by Haley at December 30, 2005 09:29 PM