Sunday 23 August 2009

Sunday Scribblings "Adult"

G'Day,
It is sunday scribblings time again. This week the prompt is "Adult".
Well I am the adult. The one who is supposed to be mature. The one who looks after everything and everyone and holds it all together.
But......some days I do not want to be.
I want to be looked after and tucked into bed, and kissed goodnight.
I want to be fed and cuddled and cajoled and cherished.
I want to be a child again.
I never want to lose the wonder of seeing the world through a child's eyes.
Discovering the magic of nature and being within it.
Today Pete and I went to the Botanic gardens here in Canberra again. One of my favourite places. The first picture above is taken under the bridge in the Tasmanian rain forest section. The fog is created by big misting machines whose job is to keep the humidity high for the plants in that area. Looking through the mist and breathing it in is magical, mystical, mistical if you like wordplay like me.

I never want to lose the child's wonder I feel at wanting to walk the boardwalk and find the magic around the next bend, in beautiful places like this. This is in the rain forest gully. Rain forest like this grows along the eastern part of australia in tiny pockets, just inland from the south coast of Victoria and N.S.W to the ranges of Queensland. The great dividing range. There is not much of it left now days due to farming and logging.
Or miss seeing the wonder of new life unfurling right before my eyes like this new leaf from an antarctic tree fern, tucked away, to be rediscovered by me. The bud is about 5 inches across and will grow into a branch probably 6 ft long. Magic.
I want to be the child who sees this flower as a big bush tooth brush.
I want to play explorers in the bush. I would name this tree the turtle head tree and use it as a landmark in my games.
I want to sit on the rocks, take off my shoes, dangle my feet in the water, watch the bugs skittering across it's surface, and listen to the water tumbling down the little water fall. And I did. Well, not the shoes, it wasn't warm enough today, but you get the idea.
I want to feel the joy I still feel when I look at the beauty of nature. Like these little papery native daisies in flower at the moment in the gardens, planted between the rocks and tumbling over them.
I want to find giant plants who lived long ago, and imagine them in a scene from a dinosaur movie.
I don't want to be an adult if it means taking things like this for granted.
Just look at these fluffy balls of wattle aren't they magic. Don't they make you want to reach out and touch them and smell them.
Don't you marvel at their brilliance when in full bloom like this? This is a snowy river wattle.
I want to be the first to discover magical little things like this cluster of hardenbergia flowers sneaking along the leaf litter and popping up to delight me in their perfection.
I want to be the naturalist who discovers a new genus of wattle like this newly planted red wattle. Tiny, yet flowering proudly to show the world "look at me!".

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We are house hunting at the moment and it is not fun. The house we have been living in since moving here to Canberra is being sold. The owner has is heart set on a small land holding and house on the south coast and needs to sell this property to acquire it. I love this house but is beyond our budget so we will have to move. We have finance and deposit to buy but the housing market here is so expensive. There is a first home buyers grant that we are not eligible for. It ends in December this year so the market is full of people trying to buy before it ends. I don't begrudge anyone else their dream but it does make it hard for people like us. It gives them an advantage and makes the market more competitive pushing prices up.
We bid at our first auction yesterday. The house went way beyond our and even the agents estimation in price. Anyway. If you want to have a sticky beak at this house, the one I can't keep, go to google and put in All homes, then 7 Bayly place to see the pics. We had it looking all spick and span for the pictures to be taken and were complimented by the agent and owner for looking after it so well, that is nice but we still do not get to keep it. It is a great house and you will see why I love it but it is just too expensive. We also had an open house on Saturday so we stayed away looking at other houses and dawdling around. Very disheartening seeing what is available. It did show us however what we do not want and will not be happy to settle for. See..... there must be an upside to everything.
Something will come up though. I am a bit worried that this house will sell ( because it will, easily) and we will have to get out before we have something else to go to. That will mean getting another rental house and moving twice. Yuck! Such a lot of work. I could have rented one of my boss's houses if we had been told about the sale of this place a week earlier. He has been renovating it. My son painted and worked on the inside of it, I cleaned it and pruned the roses for him.
Last time I moved it was a nightmare. We had been there for 15 years and accumulated so much stuff. Stuff I wasn't able to throw away,because I am not good at doing that and other stuff I had to keep for sentimental reasons. Also a nigtmare because Pete was away working in Canberra already and I had to do 90% of it by myself,and when he did come home he threw anything in boxes and didn't label them so that was very hard to unpack when we got here. He he he, not impressed. Poor Pete.
Ah well I guess being an ADULT is putting up with all that and changing and learning along the way from it.
Bye
Love Linda.

15 comments:

anthonynorth said...

I know what you mean. Despite the trials of life, I try to rediscover that sense of wonder every day.

Unknown said...

Incredible post, Linda May -- love the pics too.

I'm feeling the same way today and blogged about it.

This is just what I needed to hear.

Sue

Lilibeth said...

I'm sorry. It is such a chore to move. Your right...this is the responsibility part of being an adult. Who wouldn't want to retreat to the amazement of the child as he looks at all the wonders around him. Those gardens are amazing, and the pictures great too.

quin browne said...

sorry to hear about the move, and all the blargh surrounding it... i feel for you.

when you do move, i found putting stuff in a box, and numbering the box (they listing the number, the contents and which room to place it in) was the best way.

sadly, i packed my notebook last time.

love the ideas behind the post, the photos..

good luck.

Serena Shay said...

Aah how right you are. It would be heaven to be a child again. To remember itw wonders and live with a sense of freedom. Though from the blog it sounds like you do remember. :) Good for you!! Great post!

Sorrow said...

I would hope in my heart that Wonder is not age related, and adulthood is not relegated to boring and tiresome duty.
I would hope that Even now in my mid years that i have enough mischief and magic in my heart to make up for my tiresome pragmatic oldness!

Stan Ski said...

Where we're going - where we came from...awareness and respect...

Everydaythings said...

aww linda what a beautiful post! I love those red wattles they are like tiny puff balls or pom poms!! Good luck with the house hunting!

Tammy Brierly said...

You did the gardens proud! I'd like a little coddling too. :)

Unknown said...

Linda, I just reread your post -- it reminds me of me today :)
Sue

George S Batty said...

nice pictures and great writing. down to earth and honest. you are right, being an adult means you accept the challenges of life but I like to do it with a smile

Bimbimbie said...

Love the little red wattle flowers, all our yellow balls are in flower right now makes everything look like yellow froth. I came to see if you had any luck with the house hunting on the weekend, what a pity about your bosses house, it would have given you piece of mind until you find your new place. I think the government grant should be for brand new homes only *!*

Urban Green said...

Really nice blog..those daisies make such an awesome background...will come back soon...

http://theurbanbalcony.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

and Suzanne and I would like to do thus....right along with you guys.......................

Merle said...

G'Day Dear Linda ~~ What a great post with lovely flowers. I don't
think we ever lose our appreciation
and wonder at some of the lovely gardens, ferns and shrubbery - it is still wonderful to see. I have not yet seen the red wattle, but I like the gold better - it's lovely,
Thank you so much for your comments about the Dog Angel - it was quite popular and you will see your princess doggie again. Glad you liked the photos. My gosh your little cat Boo had a very strange life - missing so long. and she
decides when and where she will be
petted. Take great care, my friend.
Love, Merle.