These two photos were taken in 2003 – on Bronte’s first day at Primary School. The first photo (although blurry) shows her at home just about to leave. The 2nd photo shows her all happy and dishevelled when I was there to pick her up. She is 5 in these photos.
Fast forward twelve years and she has just started her final year of secondary school – Year 12, VCE.
The first thing to focus on this year was the Year 12 Formal. One of the great things about the school she goes to….they get the Formal out of the way – very fast. They started back at school on the 29th of January and Formal was done and dusted on the 7th of February!
The buildup to the Formal is a slow burn. Planning began mid 2015. There is just so much to organise. Who knew? Not me. Having had two brothers before her – let’s just say – boys and Formals are a breeze and very cheap!
Things to organise:
Dress
Special Underwear
Shoes
Clutch
Hair
Makeup
Spray Tan
Nails
Buttonhole or Boutonnière for the partner
Tickets to Formal
Tickets to After Party
Outfit for After Party
Pres – is that a word?
Transportation for 20 – Stretch Hummer
and I am sure there is more that I have forgotten.
Here’s some pictures for you. Of course, she doesn’t like any of them but that’s the nature of the beast!
that this blog doesn’t get read. Gosh, I wouldn’t read it if it weren’t mine so why would I expect others to?
It is nice to be able to come here and just be.
Lots has been happening around our home in the past year or so….
Eldest child jetted off to study in Sweden and was away for 7 months. It was an exchange situation between his uni here (Swinburne) and the University of Gothenburg. He arrived home two weeks ago. I think I spoke to him MORE when he was overseas than I have in recent weeks. Skype is a wonderful invention as is email and Messenger. Actual human interaction requires MUCH MORE co-ordination and effort on everyone’s behalf. He is away for this weekend. He has 7 months of catching up with friends to do. Still, am very thrilled that he is home and safe.
Middle child has started an Electrical Apprenticeship and seems to be really enjoying it. The job goes with his ute! ha ha. His interests are riding mototrials and driving his car. He is good at both.
Youngest has just started Year 11 this year. Her first year of VCE. She also loves to play netball and works as often as she can in a local ice cream shop. She studies and works hard.
I’ve decided I spend too much time on Facebook and just a couple of weeks ago, I deactivated my account. It feels strangely freeing. Nothing bad happened, just one day I realised that I felt more invested in other people’s lives than my own. I was worrying about issues that don’t directly affect my life or that of my family. I was worrying about people that were facing hardship and difficult challenges yet that worrying served no one well. I found that I was also looking for validation from people that really made no difference to my life. Why is that?
I have come to the realisation that my photography is what I love yet I will never make a viable profession out of it. I enjoy the process of taking the images, processing them, bringing them to life but I don’t enjoy putting myself out there in order to get work. I need a photography pimp! ha ha ha
My children are growing. My relationships are changing. Friendships as well as family relationships. I am not pursuing people anymore. I am the peacemaker no longer in my family of 4 siblings. No more effort to be made to mend fences, to get everyone together. Too many times I have been disappointed (they probably have been too – I know it’s not a one way streeet) however, this is the year that my expectations have stopped and I have come to the realisation that just because we are blood related that doesn’t make us automatically like one another. My mother (rest her soul) would be mortified at this but it has just happened too many times. The disappointment.
So, hopefully onto better things this year. To support my own family, to enjoy my friends, to love my life more and to not pine after things that can not be. That is my goal. To put some selfish shoes on and move forward. To laugh more. To see more movies. To travel. To lose weight. To actually enjoy life.
Here’s to that!
Here’s my lovely Finn and gorgeous Diego when we visited Inverloch.