I know this is off-topic and has nothing to do with motorhoming but I haven’t posted for a while and felt compelled to write. Yesterday was my birthday. I was 64 years old yesterday. I could say something like ‘where did all that time go’ but, really, it’s gone on a life well lived. What a life I’ve had so far. I was one of the lucky ones to have had a very happy childhood with wonderful parents, an adorable little brother and a large, loving, extended family. I met the love of my life at high school and we finally married when I was just 21. He was 23. That seems awfully young these days. We went on to have three wonderful children and they have given us 7 beautiful grandchildren so far.

My day began with birthday greetings from Richard and the gift of a voucher for one of my favourite places Eclipse the Essential Spa. I will enjoy using that. I received text messages, Facebook and Messenger messages, phone calls and even a FaceTime call. All with warm happy birthday wishes. And this was all before I left for work for the day!

I love how social media keeps us in contact with friends far and wide. This is the real power of social media. You may not be able to see those people for some time but a short post every now and then keeps us in touch wherever we are in the world. Those messages are always warmly received. Facebook reminded me that this time last year we were camped in our motorhome by the beach at Delicate Campground near Crescent Head on the northern NSW coast.

My work colleagues made my day special with a gift of lovely flowers and for morning tea we had delicious takeaway coffees from Peeches Coffee Lounge.

I left for work with strict instructions to be home by 5pm as Richard was taking me out for dinner. I did as told and as soon as I arrived home four little people (and their mothers) came to visit with lots of cuddles for me from them all and many ‘hapbirthday Gran’ from the 2 year old grandson.

Our daughter volunteered to drive us into town and drop us at the restauarant. I was not really surprised to be dropped at Limone. Richard knows it’s one of my favourite restaurants and chef Luke Piccolo and his team always make us feel special. I was surprised however by the large bouquet of flowers on our table when we were shown to our seats. Richard had been organised to have picked them up and dropped them off at the restaurant earlier in the day.

We enjoyed a six course degustation dinner with delicious wine and, as always, the food was amazing. It was a lovely evening.

The celebration continues today however with all the family expected at our house for an early BBQ dinner at 5pm. This has all been arranged by the family without my knowledge, although a couple of little people did let the cat out of the bag. They were excited by it being someone’s birthday. Why is at our house? Well, honestly, our house is a perfect venue for a BBQ dinner for 17 people (That’s 10 fully vaccinated adults and 7 children in case you were wondering). We can all gather together, there’s plenty of room for everyone, the table is large enough for all, the children have lots of room to play and we just love having them here.

Thank you to all of you who have helped to make my birthday a special one. I am truly blessed.