When Childhood Dreams Come True…. Part 1

What is it about spring that makes you just want to refresh your life? It seems that everybody is re-born in September. As the weather warms up and the days become longer, I always get a sense of refreshment. Sure, with spring also comes the feeling of another year slipping away, but it still has to be my favourite time of the year.

This year, I started a new job, got back on track with my health and fitness and planned for the best harvest year for fruit and vegetables with multiple plots in multiple neighbourood locations. But more on that later.

Spring has also given me the kick start I need to get on top of my blog posts, cause lately the updates have run a little dry…

So this time, i’m going to start with a little story. Hold tight, bare with me, and relax as I start with a little trip down memory lane.

It’s 4am on Good Friday. I’m about 4 or 5 at the time. Dad casually wakes me up like its normal for us all to be awake at this time of the morning. Still, I don’t care, because the day I so anxiously waited for last night is finally here and I’m instantly overcome with excitement. I pass one half asleep and grumbly brother in the hallway while I argue with the other over who is going to use the bathroom first. Mum looks stressed. Panicking that we will forget to lock a window, turn off the stove or heaven forbid, forget to pack a jump. Only as an adult will I appreciate her thoroughness. Dad signals our departure with a sharp and abrupt delivery of what seems like the same words he always uses for every trip out of the house: “Right kids, in the car. Pooch, leave that, it will be fine. Just get in the car”. Then before I can rub the last bit of sleep from my eye, the car starts and we are off. Destination – Cowra. Purpose – Annual family visit to our friend’s farm. ETA – not soon enough. Duration – Never long enough.

Ever since these early childhood memories begun, I have always loved travelling somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. There is something majestical and mysterious about watching the sunrise from the back seat of a car. Part of me feels like I am running away, while the other part enjoys that I am simply running towards something more exciting. Or perhaps it was just the fact that I was awake earlier than usual, an adventure that most kids are willing to accept.

Matthew, the eldest, stays asleep for the most part of the journey, only waking for food and toilet stops or when Mark and I push the limits too far while playing “who can put the most boogers on Matt without waking him”. We laugh so hard that we eventually wake him. A dangerous sport indeed. Mark, the second eldest, sleeps occasionally when he isn’t worried about throwing up due to car sickness. This is a problem I never encounter or fully understand so I take the opportunity to make fun of him and for once I feel superior. Mum supports Dad by pretending to stay awake during the trip. Of course you can never really tell if she’s awake when she wears her sunglasses. Early on in the journey she will pipe up with “Did I turn off the stove?”, a question that is as guaranteed with every holiday. Dad doesn’t sleep, which is probably a good thing considering he was always driving. I on the other hand resist sleep wherever possible. Most of the time it’s because I am sick with excitement but sometimes it’s because I fear what Mark may do while I’m asleep. Still, I love travelling to much to sleep it away and it angers me when tiredness gets the best of me. I pass out on Matt’s uncomfortable yet soothing shoulder and wake closer to our destination. I am grateful after all, because sleep makes the time go faster.

Finally we arrive after what seems like forever. I bounce out of the car and greet our friends. They have 3 children with a fourth eventually on its way. It takes time for the children and me to reconnect again after 12 months of absence from each other yet when we do, we become the best of friends. For the next 7 days at least.

I’ve already created a list of activities within my own head and I waste no time getting stuck into them.

1. Visit the chickens and collect the eggs
2. Check to see if there are any lambs or calves that need hand feeding. Surprises were always guaranteed on the farm.
3. Take a walk down to the pig shed to check out the mums and babies. Twice a day.
4. Play, swim and go for a field walk.
5. Take a tandem ride on the four wheel bike
6. Plan our annual picnic in the paddock alongside the creek.
7. Check the chickens again in case I missed any eggs.

Visiting the farm every year was one of my most cherished childhood memories and definitely my favourite family holiday by far. This is where I developed my love for animals and my internal peace for the land, two traits that I continue to respect even today. I remember thinking when I was young that working on a farm was something that I wanted to do when I grew up. It was the first time I ever had a sense of what I wanted to do with my life.  Some people tried to discourage me from this dream, claiming that farmers would always have it “tough”. For some part this did put me off, yet I managed to stay connected to the attraction of the animals and land through other aspects of my career. I started my career out as a Veterinary Nurse and study at TAFE to get my qualifications. I moved onto working for a veterinary wholesaler where I developed my customer service and sales skills in a business environment, something that I will always carry with me and even now as I continue to work in a similar role. Yet something inside me yearned for that connection I felt as a 4 year old, making a list in my head and carrying out daily tasks on the farm. I missed working with animals and I could hear the land finally calling for me to return.

20 years later, that dream was re-born as naturally as the flowers in the spring time. Just like the grass breaks through its winter dormancy, life feels like it was returning for good…..

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