Summer 2008

With the arrival of summer and the final trimester of this pregnancy I have decided the garden is now on its own, with only the help of an automatic watering system and a weekly leisurely stroll past a few pot plants, hose in hand, from me.

Fela continues to create the conundrum for us of deciding just what stage of development is the cutest. A very busy little walking and talking man, the most common comments we get about him are about how happy he is and how much he “talks”. A gregarious chap, he still loves a party more than anything else, so the current festive season is certain to become a favourite time of year for him (as if it isn’t for just about every child I know).

Matt made his debut this year as film director with a gorgeous little romantic comedy set in a display home. It was enjoyed I think by all who saw it but alas, not being about war, domestic abuse or repressed sexuality, it is unlikely to win any awards in our depression-obsessed film industry. His next project is about a 9 year old rugby league fan on holiday on the border of Lebanon and Israel. If the boy gets shot in the final scene, you’ll know why.

Matt’s been awarded a 3 year scholarship to do a PhD in screen writing starting next year, which will be a great opportunity for him to work on some interesting and useful stuff (including make a film or two) and add yet more letters to his name. He’ll do that along with ongoing teaching at the Uni and I like to think he’ll be available for a fair bit of daddy care of two little people as well.

I continue to keep variety in my working life, working at both an adult and the children’s hospital, as well as making visits to Broken Hill and doing a bit of private work too. Until I took on an extra half day of work recently, taking the weekly total to about 3 days, the “work-life balance” has been just about right…