You know when you have those weeks that just keep on giving you all those little sparks of joy? Yeah. I just had one. So many of us spend our life chasing happiness, thinking that we will arrive somewhere, some day, and just be happy. I know I used to, but I now understand that life just doesn’t work that way. A state of constant happiness is not something we need to be striving for. Instead, I do my best to appreciate those happy times when they are happening, and, aside from hormone swings and sad times, bask in a state of contentment much of the rest of the time.

But this past week, I genuinely found myself smiling more and really appreciating the simple pleasures in my life. It started with a family dinner for my brother’s birthday as he and Kate were up from Melbourne. So lovely to have all my special people together.

On Monday I caught up with my friend (and old neighbour from Rocky) Chris, meeting up at DFO for a spot of shopping and a delicious lunch. I’m making a big effort not to rush from place to place, as I am listening to the audiobook version of Rushing Woman’s Syndrome and am finally realising the impact that an overly full and stressful life is having on my health. I have been wearing busy like a badge of honour, but I have really noticed the affects my rushing lifestyle have had on my mental and physical health and am taking steps to change this behaviour. It was nice to slow down and wander around and was good to catch up.

There was a public holiday on Wednesday so I took the kids skating for the 2nd time that week and I decided to throw on some roller skates, then switched to blades, and skated around in circles, finding my groove again after not blading for 20 or so years. It was just so much fun! The kids were even impressed with some of my moves, and I just kept hoping I wouldn’t fall! Which I didn’t! We are planning on going back in a couple of weeks and I’m already excited!

Marty was down for the week, and looking ahead, we had no plans (and no kids) on Friday night. Normally we would just order takeaway and watch the footy, which is always nice, but Marty suggested we go out, which I was so keen for, but I just didn’t want to make any decisions, so he planned it all and I just went along for the ride. We went to Mythos Corner Cafe and had the most lovely time. The food was great, the ambiance was divine, and the company was the best. I didn’t take any photos, but we took dessert home, shared some wine and watched the footy and it was honestly the perfect night out, and in!

Saturday finally saw the August Ekka winds pick up, but it was a glorious sunny day, and the perfect weather for Marty and Grumpy to do some work on my back deck which is in great need of repair. They set everything up, and the kids were very keen to lend a hand.

For weeks now, Quinn has wanted to go and see The Barbie Movie with me, and thanks to Uncle Felix, we got to go and see it in style at Gold Class!

And while all of this was happening, Chance was down at the Gold Coast at the Pacific Air Show with his Poppy and some of my cousins! Chance really wanted to go, and the only way I could easily get him there was to put him on the train and get Poppy to meet him at the other end. Honestly it could not have worked out any better, and he had the most incredible day. We are even talking about all heading down there for it next year.

Saturday night was another lovely family dinner at my place and we watched some of the final game for the Matildas. The kids love playing chess with Uncle Khicken!

Once the kids were in bed, and the dishwasher was all packed, we put our feet up and watched a bit of The Hollowmen. We love the TV series Utopia, and Marty hadn’t seen The Hollowmen so I’ve been enjoying watching that with him.

On Sunday morning, Marty headed off early-ish to go and watch his youngest play in an Aussie Rules carnival, and I was pottering about doing the washing and the Woollies order. At around 10:30am, Quinn asked if we could go on a family bike ride. It was another glorious day, so it was an easy answer of “heck yeah!” Darby is still getting the hang of riding a bike, so we didn’t venture out far, but we had a lovely time, and it’s something we will do more often for sure.

After the bike ride, we all piled into two cars and headed to a family friends’ place for lunch. It was so nice for the kids to tear around together, and lovely to catch up. The last thing to round out the week was taking Uncle Khicken to watch Chance play basketball. Julius tagged along and it was nice to have him there. Chance’s team won by a fair margin, and Chance got a few touches which was good for his confidence.

Of course, through a lot of this, there was behaviour to manage and big emotions to navigate, but these things are easier when I’m surrounded by my support team, and I’m so grateful every day for my family. It will most likely be a quieter week this week, but it’s nice to slow down and be content in these times.