A Family Affair

Okay, so I've been M.I.A again and for that, I apologise. I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing and fear I'll never get the hang of that "being organised" thing that's all the rage among, uh, everyone else but I'm trying my best! And I do have another legitimate excuse - I've been away! We left last Friday for my parents house, in a small coastal town north of Sydney, and I didn't return until Wednesday.

Every Easter a bevvy of folks head to my parents' house, being that they live right on the water and have a boat, and Easter is generally a time for enjoying family and friends. It's also a four day weekend, and my parents cook. What's not to love? This Easter was no exception, with our little family, my sister and partner, my Aunty, Uncle and their daughter and at various times my brother and a host of friends gathering for meals, drinks and laughter. There were nine of us actually staying in the house.

Now, this situation is HIGHLY ADVISABLE for those of you with little babies. I'm not so sure about little children (who generally tend towards annoying let's admit it) but little babies are in high demand. Family, friends and strangers alike will gladly cuddle, kiss and squeeze your cute little baby for up to many hours while you a) sleep, b) watch television, c) go to the pub or d) all of the above. Therefore a house full of family, including one pre-teen who just loooooves babies, is akin to Mums-of-Little-Babies heaven.

Aaaaaah, the hijinks I got up to while leaving my child to the care of others. I went waterskiing WITH MY HUSBAND, AT THE SAME TIME. That's right, one of us was not watching the baby, oh no. That was left to my Mum and Aunty who, I hear, actually fought over her. I then drank a glass of wine while my husband and Mum bathed Heike. The following day, I went to the pub with my sister. We played pool. We drank beers. We laughed, oh how we laughed. Concurrently, I believe Justus was reading a book. On Easter Sunday, Justus and I went to watch a rugby match. Together. Alone. De-lightful.

The utter amazingness of having family around all the time supports my belief that Western society has it all wrong when it comes to rearing babies. Take me back to tribal times, when I would constantly be surrounded by a swarm of women, family and friends, and would have expert advice, cuddles (for me AND Heiks!) and help on tap.  Instead it's just me, Heiks, Google and our favourite friend, the singing moo cow. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

I must say though, as fab as it was having people around the truly best part was how lovely it was to spend the day with my little girl yesterday - just her and I, playing, laughing, sometimes crying (just her I swear!) and cuddling, cuddling, cuddling. A few days without her full time reminded me just how much I do love being with her always. Nawww!

Z xx