Yesterday we ventured up the mountain. I knit as Dave drove and we spoke of our plans for the coming year. Paddocks with horses and cows lined the road until we started the climb and in their place there was thick rain forest. Past the main strip, at the end of a street full of houses, we made our way to the Mount Tamborine Botanical Gardens. I love it there. So fresh, lush and green. It is a place that makes me feel at ease. The rose walk, the hill of hydrangeas, the Japanese garden. We walked the paths before sitting beneath old trees on the lawn. Emerson crawled and sat, tasting leaves and grass. Cohen made a friend and they explored and imagined together. Bush turkey's walked past, an eel swam in the pond, kookaburras laughed above us. It was simple and beautiful.
I wish we had packed a picnic so we could have stayed for longer. That feeling of family, togetherness, quiet, comfort, I want to take that in to the new year with me. To always leave space for those moments where my children can just be themselves and I can soak them in without interruption.
I saw in the New Year with a baby in my arms who'd been awoken by the sound of fireworks and dogs barking at midnight. I'd been laying in bed, unable to sleep for excitement at all this year has to bring. There is something about the clean slate of the New Year. Of intentions, resolutions, unfulfilled plans. Promise, expectation, possibility. I kissed both my children for the first time this year before slipping back in to bed.
Emerson's bonnet c/o Tuppenny Lane
Emerson's bonnet c/o Tuppenny Lane
