We love you Drandpa ....

So Drandpa is of course Grandpa, according to F1, and we are spending the weekend on his farm about 90 minutes out of town. You've got to love it - cool crisp mornings and evenings, heaps of green for the kids to run wild in, a few cats and dogs, cows in the nearby paddock and plenty of fruit dropping from the trees to substitute for tennis balls and throw around. Plus Drandpa is doing all the cooking so mum and dad actually get the night off. I really do love it here.

Being removed from the stressors of daily life is a hit with me too. We could have stayed home this weekend cos we've both got plenty of work to do, both for business and around the house, but the unexpected and untimely death of our cat from a snake bite last Monday reminded me that life is about now. The work will still be there, and it will still get done, on Monday, and it is important to make time to for the family.

I was reminded of this when I came across a friend yesterday morning before we left town who was clearly stressed with the demands of her own business. At least once a month for the past six months I have extended the invitation to this friend and her husband and son to join us for a weekend outing - swimming, beaching, community playgroup, friday night barbie etc. Every time she has declined with the reason being that either the entire household is sick or Dad's away on business and it's all too much.

Now I can face the fact also that perhaps she's just not that interested and just doesn't want to come, but I don't actually think that's what it's all about.

Her son was pretty happy to run into me and rapid fire with questions about where F1 was, as he was not with me, obviously keen for a catch up and a play. And I was saddened to think of all the opportunities that might be being missed not just by my friend but by her son and her whole family.

What's my point. Well, I can't do anything about my friend and her commitments and priorities but I can take charge of my own. So instead of echoing those sentiments and sticking my head down and bum up and neglecting my family as my business takes priority, I turned the natural order on it's head.

It's been the most rewarding two days. My hubby is happy - he spent 1 hour today, during a 3 hour visit, with his mum at a nursing home, helping her to eat her lunch. He is happy because today she has been nourished not just with food but with the energetic attentions of her two beautiful grandchildren and the warmth our little family brings to her world. She can't express much at all these days, suffering from advanced motor neurone disease and frontal lobe dementia and now possibly also parkinsons, but you can clearly see the joy in her eyes and occasionally a real and spontaneous smile when we spend time with her.

My kids are happy. They adore Drandpa. He's very strict with them - there is absolutely no throwing stones in the fish pond - but he is also playful and fully into letting them explore the gadgets in the shed and around the house, that I wouldn't let them near in a pink fit. They also get to see mum and dad relaxed and happy and spending time with each other and with them, and I can tell this makes them happy.

Drandpa is happy - he is baching it out here on the farm and any company is good company, especially our lively little crew.

And I am happy. The world turns, chaos abounds in all four corners of the globe and the news of the world is tuned into all that is miserable, and yet I am happy. I can't change the world, the misery will continue. I can only change myself. And by releasing my control for just a few days I have found a sense of peace and relaxation this weekend that is rare in my life.

The time that matters is now. I try to do the best I can with the knowledge and resources I have available right now and in that I find peace.

I was privileged this year to hear a guy called Bruce Sullivan speak. He said that we should try to make every interaction we have with people make that person feel special. Leave them wanting more.

It's a great way to approach life.

So as my beautiful little Z2 comes to call me to dinner, I am reminded again of how special and wonderful my life is and the pure joy that I have the privilege to breathe in every day.

We love you Drandpa ...