Born and raised in a bush environment I always felt at home in a tree, by a stream or playing in mud.  Not to say I didn't wear frocks I just hitched them up into my undies like shorts so I could move a round better.

 

On frigid mornings mum would wake us all up at 6am, her woolen beenie drawn low over her head, big soft fluffy slippers on and a huge heavy dressing gown over what seemed like layers of pj's.  My sister and I shared a room back then, we were still young about 5 or 6 I recall.

 

We'd stumble out of bed, bleery eyed, rugged up in much the same manner as mum and sit at the dining table, we only had one table back then it was the breakfast table, lunch table, dinner table, homework table, dressmaking table it had all sorts of fun things on it.

 

In the kitchen mum would be stiring a big pot of porrage, you could hear it bubbling away with big plop plop plops, my tummy would rumble away while I sipped on my hot chocolate.

 

Dad would patter around the house getting ready for work while my sister and I ate our porrage which mum always use to let us sugar ourselves.  When we'd finish dad would sit at the up right piano and begin to play four seasons ~ he always started with winter so that I could sit next to him and work spring.  My sister would have her hair brushed by mum while we played, I remember looking up at my dads face which was, back then young and bushy with auburn red curly hair, his eyes resting on mine with a smile, he'd ruffle my hair creating a wonderfully warm fuzzy feeling inside, joy.

 

After breakfast mum would let us play outside she always said "just be back for lunch when the suns on top of your heads" apart from those words of warning we could go anywhere we liked, more often than not exploring the bush behind our house which stretched far into a forested valley, it was full of birds and gum tree's.  Sis and I would play hide and seek, grab a gum leaf and use it between our thumbs to whistle, tease each other with our whereabouts.  Those were heady days, pure joy, roaming free without a care in the world, those were the days where dad loved mum and mum in return loved dad. 

 

Now I guess things are a little different, as I get older I realise more how pretty special and good my childhood was, it got me ready for my life now, for evolving, always ready to explore life.  Now as my parents mortality draws ever nearer I see that in myself I have many parts of my parents adding to my life, self and future and I'm finally beginning to like them.