building happiness

Hey, guess what: I have now have another thing to add to my list of

Top Favourite Physical Sensations.

It'll go there on the shelf with

drying my face with a towel after a shower. (Bliss)

taking off my socks in bed when my feet have finally warmed up (Yay)

getting into bed when the sheets have just been changed. (Utterly Delectable)

wrapping my fingers around a cup of tea. (Mmm)

the moment of sitting down on the couch, with that same cup of tea, just after the kids have snuggled up to sleep. (Tranquility)

taking off my shoes and socks at the beach, and scrunching my toes in the sand
(especially when it's Spring and you've been in socks and shoes on the beach all winter, and finally, finally, it's warm enough to take them off!) (Yum)

the shiver of cold on my toes when I walk into a wave. (Ah. Like the tingle I get when I taste a rare fizzy soft drink and my brain goes Weeeee. Oh, that should be on the list too. There you go, fine moment, get settled in.)

Ah. It's a great list, isn't it?


So what could possibly be fine enough to add to a list as scrumptious as this?

Well, it's this:

putting on your jammies and slippers after a full day of adventure with your family, when your body is tired but so happy, when you're brim-ful of Best Day Ever-itis.

Oh, the feeling of soft fabric, the warmth of your slippers and socks, the sigh as your body settles in. (SO! SNUGGLY!)


I will write about the day we had very soon. It was truly a wonderful day (in fact it was a whole weekend of lovely) but for now, I'll let the list be.

So it can look at itself and feel kind of pleased, kind of proud, kind of special

for being the

Only Thing That Helena Writes About, For Once! (Because You Know How She Can Go On)

:)

I hope you are all having a beautiful day! We sure are.

(How could we not? A whole day at home. Practice, Maths, new islands on Poptropica. Going on a mission to find vegan cheese! Cancelling band to read library books on the couch. Peace. Space. Beauty.)

full

Boy our day was full yesterday!

Shall I tell you about it? Oh, I think I shall!

Well,

the kids did some maths and survived :) And my girl and I played two rounds of Zeus on the Loose and my boy played DragonFable

AND

we went to the library again for our Fun Writing Challenge. My boy learned that Italy has a National Emblem and my girl drew a map of the UK. They both learned about a really big statue of an angel, the biggest statue in England. "Did you know, Mum," the kids said, "that the angel's wingspan is longer than a jumbo jet?" No! "Yes!" Wow!

AND

we went and bought bananas from the shop near the library and they were so expensive. The lady at the shop said, "It's because of the Queensland floods…" She and I had a long talk about all the fruit and veg prices being affected and how much it was costing them to run their shop and could you believe a box of ginger was $300? The kids listened to all of it, and afterwards we agreed we'd definitely appreciate these bananas.

AND

on the drive home we had just a little talk… about how England used to govern a lot of countries and how that had changed but that we were still a Commonwealth country and still a Monarchy and did you know, the Queen can fire the Prime Minister? NO! Yes! So we had a conversation about the Constitution and Monarchies vs Republics and Referendums and Commonwealth countries and Governor Generals and we talked about the Queen. All on the drive home from the library!

AND

we had lunch. And we read and drew. My boy read all about Space and my girl drew in her Oodles of Doodles book.

and 

it was so so so SO hot, we had to go

Swimming

AND

my girl, for the first time ever, swam 25 meters non-stop. That's half an Olympic-sized pool! Non-stop, freestyle. YES!   We stopped swimming lessons for her a while ago—she hated having people grabbing her in the water to correct her stroke. So we've been practising a bit, doing the big arms, talking about big kicks and how her head should turn when she breathed. She's been listening, listening, trying hard. So it was utterly great to see her power through the water, just like that, all the way to half-way. All in front of her Nana, who'd just arrived at the pool. Double plus good :)

AND

my boy, for the first time ever, swam a whole kilometre. That's 20 laps of an Olympic-sized pool! Just up and down up and down, determined to do it. He took breaks, he smiled, but even when Nana arrived, he just kept going. And going. And going. He was so pleased with himself at the end. And a little bit pooped!

AND

they had to share their Space journals and Writing Challenge notebooks with their Nana, who listened and read and loved the kids to bits as always. And they showed her Mittens who purred and loved them all up

AND…

well, that was actually about it! Other than all the reading and drawing and talking and sharing with Dad all our adventures at the end of the day.

Which was so full and so happy and 

so very hot!

.

our holidays…

Our holidays…

in

one word:

YUM.

We got outside a lot

mostly to

one beach

or

another

where…

ice cream was enjoyed

cliff paths were followed

rock forts were built

and rock boats were rowed

a dog was walked (and then rested)

rocks were wandered on

tree bridges were traversed

water was waded through

shark eggs were gathered

yellow met yellow

dolphins were found frolicking

the sky was held

waves were watched

(and swum in, and run from)

smiles were smiled and grins were grinned

and

joy was jumped

if you were small…

If you were very very small

and you wanted to go somewhere big

would you go here

and see the world like this?

the edge of everything

Once upon a time,

a family went to the beach.

It was beautiful, but very windy and very cold!

The family set off, bracing themselves against the chill,

and perhaps they all thought this was going to be

a Very Short Walk.

But just then,

the boy and the dog found a path

heading into the dunes and away from the wind…

The family decided to go up the path,

with the sea roaring behind them,

not knowing what they might see

or what they might find.

They found another path,

that curved in an S,

through yellow, wind-bent grass and around dense bushes…

Which led to another path,

heading up.

The family was intrigued!

They climbed until they reached the top and saw…

a beautiful view.

The grown-ups said Ooh, and Ahh.

The children (and dog) scrambled,

and wandered,

and gazed.

But they weren't finished!

No, the family was bewitched,

by the twisting paths and the endless view.

So on they wandered…

through dense bush and brambly bits,

past discoveries green

and black

and yellow.

The boy was the leader. (Well, after the dog).

He had worn his shorts so his legs got scratched, but only a little.

The woman was next.

She wanted to keep going, keep going, around just one more bend.

The girl thought she was getting left behind (but only a little).

The man was peaceful.

The dog was happy beyond belief.

It seemed they were wandering with no purpose or plan.

But just then they all stopped, because they saw

something lovely.

And they were at the edge of everything and anything was possible.

They also, quite suddenly,

could go no further.

Their path was gone.

And they saw that they were far from the sea.

The woman said, Oh, the sun is setting!

And the girl said, I want to go back!

(Because she thought they might get lost

there

in the brambly dark)

But there was nothing to fear,

because they remembered the way back.

Past the bushes and bits,

past the discoveries, green black and yellow,

following the footprints they had left in the sand.

Until…

they saw another,

previously ignored path

that would take them back

to the sea.

They followed it,

down and down and around bends,

and the roar of the waves grew louder

and louder

until,

they were at the bottom of the dune again.

Where they found four new paths.

One going

North

One going

South

One going East

And one going

West

(which was the way they had just come but it still looked so inviting)

And all they had to do was choose.