2015 already!

My brain has not fully registered that we are three days into the new year.

This is the year ...

My firstborn starts high school.

My younger child sits her first NAPLAN.

My best friend turns 40.

My soulmate turns 50 (!!).

There is much to be grateful for, and much more to learn.

So far we have enjoyed a four-day road trip, staying one night at Horsham and three nights in Adelaide. Was touched by evidence of personal growth in the firstborn, such as when she generously read fairytales to mei mei one night, and when she showed concern for Dad who drove non-stop from Warrnambool to reach home by midnight. Every five minutes, she would ask: "Are you okay Dad? Dad are you feeling okay?" Beautiful. She even sang to keep Dad awake, something she would never do in the daytime and under normal circumstances. It was so wondrous to hear her sing 'Stars' from Les Mis with feeling and lyrical accuracy, while we admired the thousand points of light in the black sky on that dark and deserted minor road leading to the Geelong Ring Road.

The tiler has come in and replaced all the vinyl flooring in the laundry and guest bathroom and toilet with tiles, and the carpeting (!!) in the ensuite with tiles.

I did not know 12 boxes of 30x30 charcoal-coloured tiles could bring me so much joy and make our comfy home even more pleasant to walk through.

Love his level of professionalism and detail. Now if he had only taken away the rubbish with him instead of leaving it in the carport, I would have given him 10/10. As it is, he gets 9/10.

Next big job is repainting the house, because the tradie who did the bathroom resurfacing accidentally took off significant bits of plaster from the ceiling. When you change one thing, you often find you have to change a whole lot of other things as well.