Monthly Archives: September 2015

The things he has learned

September 23, 2015 By in Family Tags: , , 21 Comments

Young boy looking at globe

First he learned the basics: how to smile, and then to laugh.

He learned how to sleep, to sit, to hold a spoon. To grab his own toes, stick a fist in his mouth, clutch a blanket tight when he needed comfort. He learned to crawl and walk, and then to run, to jump, to stretch up high like a tree and crouch down low like a lion. He learned to make noise with a ladle and saucepan, to build towers and knock them over, to roll a ball, and then to throw it.

How foolish I was to think that was it. It does not stop at one year, or two. The learning continues, every day, forever. Continue reading →

September and Spring

September 3, 2015 By in Family, Tasmania Tags: , , , , , , 12 Comments

spring notebook

September has always been a favourite month of mine.

In my head it has always felt like a time of new beginnings. When we lived in the northern hemisphere that seemed at odds with the fact that it marked the start of autumn – a time for closing in rather than reaching out – but perhaps I associated it with the start of the academic year.

Now that we are in the south, September really does signify something new – it is the official start of Australian spring. You would not guess that to look at Mount Wellington, which still has a generous covering of snow on the peak, but the increasing noise levels from the birds in our garden and the lighter mornings are both giving a hint of what’s to come. Continue reading →