A beautiful Sunday with my five favourite beings…
Oscar, Rob, Stanley & Max
Love…
Rob, Oscar, Stanley, Max & Kassie…
Oscar
Rob
Sunday…
Tag: family
If we take the time to look: life truly is AMAZING…
How often do we take the time to strip away what can be defined as difficult times, only to reveal a different truth to the one we thought we knew?
Yes, that sentence is quite complex. But think about it. We can often think we’ve been dealt a tough hand, a bad deal, a horrible time.
Define it how you will, but it comes down to thinking life has not always been kind.
This may well be true in part.
But look deeply. Look hard. What do you really find?
Personally. At this moment, as I sit here listening to music and lolling through old images on the 23rd of May, 2014. I come to a realisation about life.
I’ve had an amazing life.
I’m truly one of the lucky ones.
I’ve travelled. I’ve lost. I’ve cried. I’ve laughed.
I’ve LOVED. And I’ve been LOVED.
What more could I want?
Here’s a few of my favourite images, taken by me and for me that depict a great life.
Life truly is amazing!
Embrace it!
Always…
Abu Dhabi
My beautiful boys – Love….
Beautiful Amy…
Dinner at Peters,Taiwan xxx…
Abu Dhabi
World Cup, Sth Africa
Sydney
Taiwan xx
LA
LA
HOme…
Africa
Africa
Africa
Big Bear
Who knows…
Oscar & Stanley…
As we travel through life, we find many who walk beside us and share our journey. Some stay a moment, some stay a lifetime. And in that lifetime, there are lessons.
Lessons of love, lessons of laughter and lessons of loyalty.
My journey with Oscar and Stanley is just that: a lesson in love, laughter and above all, loyalty.
Oscar…
Stanley…
Oscar at play
Oscar & Stanley
Stanley
A catalyst for change…
When life deals us what we define as a cruel card, we are left crumbled and broken in its wake. But what if we were to look at that card as a catalyst for change?
Could that seemingly catastrophic chain of events be nothing more than a key that unlocks the door to personal freedom? And by personal freedom I refer to freedom from those voices that have haunted you for years. Those voices who told you, you were not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough or loved enough.
What if that event allowed you to see you, for you. Allowed you to listen to your soul and hear just how fabulous you really are.
Because you are.
It allowed you to see that you fit. You fit perfectly with yourself, and your self is all that matters.
And best of all. What if that so-called catastrophic event allowed you to forgive? And to say the words:I forgive you and I send you love.
And in the words of the wonderful Julia Stone:
The story is different now…but its all okay, for love will find a way to be where love is.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Family
Until recently, I had been living overseas and for family reasons, I needed to return to Australia, as such this weeks challenge was quite apt.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Let there be light
Living and teaching in Penghu, Taiwan brings many photo opportunities. The other day my kids celebrated the American Thanksgiving holiday. Parents shared moments with their children, children shared moments with each other. And in those moments, light filtered into the rooms bathing those beautiful people in the warm, afternoon light.
A lesson finished
Penghu beauty
And as expected, the tears flowed…
I knew it was inevitable I would shed a few tears, after all I packed up my life in just 10 days and the emotions associated with such a life-changing move were bound to boil over and explode. I just didn’t know when. What follows is what happened this morning, when without warning the floodgates opened and as expected the tears flowed.
Interestingly, my morning begins well, I wake feeling happy and decide to rearrange my apartment. Inspecting an adjacent unused room, I find a tall table, perfect for my cooker and wok. Putting this in place, I move the small bar fridge for better access and arrange all the other pieces to create a workable kitchen space. As I shuffle furniture, Angus & Julia’s calming voices and gentle tunes filter through the room, keeping me company and mixing beautifully with the scent of burning incense.
In my bedroom I move the bed so it faces the window, in this position I can watch a myriad of stars dance in the night sky. And as dawn breaks I will see the dark sky brighten as it bathes in the sun’s early morning light.
When I finish, I feel good and make my first coffee for the morning in my newly ‘designed’ kitchen. Taking my coffee to my desk, I open Facebook to see what friends and family have been up to in another part of the world. It is this moment when I see my cover image of Oscar & Stanley that tears begin to well. My eyes fill and my emotions erupt, I begin to sob and I cannot stop. I’m letting go. Not of my beloved family, friends and dogs, but of the emotions I have suppressed since making the decision to take my life to Penghu. I have expected this outpour of emotion and I let it come and allow it to wash over me for it refreshes and renews.
As I write this now, 3 hours later, I am not lonely or unhappy for I like it here and after spending the last 3 days getting to know my kids and the teaching role I have undertaken, I am happy with my decision.
Quite simply, I just miss those who I love most in the world and as expected tears flow…
Much loved family & friends…
A computer, a coffee and Woody…
a bed with a view…
‘Yes, it’s a bookcase Mum, do you have a problem with that?’
Oscar & Stanley
Me & my beautiful KK @Swiss Alps
Max
Thoughts…
Side by side, always…
I wish I could speak Dachshund…
I wish I could talk to animals, my animals in particular.
In doing so I would be able to explain to my beloved Oscar and Stanley that I will be going away for 12 months. But as I cannot, they will be left to wonder where ‘Mum’ is, which breaks my heart and as such, since accepting my teaching role on Penghu, I have shed many tears.
I shared my concerns with my dear friend Amy as 18 months ago, she embarked on a similar journey that took her away from her beloved Lola for 12 months. On her return Lola had not forgotten her, Lola did not turn her back, Lola just continued where she left off. Loving Amy. Her words as usual, were comforting.
I know they will be well cared for as my parents moved into my downstairs granny flat a few months ago and they love them to bits, and Oscar and Stanley are also devoted to my son Rob, who loves them equally in return. But they are also highly devoted to me and if they can, they will be at my side 24/7, just as they are now as I write this post.
Yes, I wish I could speak Dachshund…
Silence of the Lambs ahem, Dachshunds…
Oscar & Stanley are my much-loved wire-haired Dachshunds.
More often than not, when I’m on the computer, they will lie with me on my bed if I’m on my laptop, snooze on the couch if I’m at the desktop, wrestle at my feet, or in quieter moments, simply wait and watch.
This morning was no different, they lolled about as I posted images for this week’s photo challenge, and as I was engrossed in posting, I failed to notice their departure. It was only on finishing my post that I noticed I had obviously become the proud owner of two highly skilled, 4-legged interior decorators. And their choice of material? Toilet paper: here are a few snaps of their silent, yet somewhat creative handiwork.
Oscar & Stanley
Introducing Oscar…
In an earlier post I wrote about Stanley’s (my beloved Dachshund) issue with being left alone.
So I researched a number of different sites relating to separation anxiety to find methods that would help overcome his problem.
After following some of the suggested remedies, Stanley has improved, however I feel the main reason his behaviour has improved relates directly to the new addition to our family: Oscar, an 8 week-old Wire-Haired Dachshund.
Stanley is now one happy pooch.
And Oscar, well he is quite simply, divine…
stanley & bear 