Journaling in July Day 10 – 14

My blogging friend Sue from SizzlingTowards 60 & Beyond has put out the challenge to bloggers to join in her Journaling in July Challenge challenge. Sue is not a genealogy or family history blogger. Her blog focuses on lifestyle issues at they relate to the midlife experience.  I mainly follow lifestyle bloggers on my other blog Next Phase In Fitness & Life . However I plan to join Sue in the July Challenge on this blog, as I feel their prompts will help to build up a story about myself that will be useful in creating my family story. As I look at the prompts, and how they apply to me and my life, I can see that some will be short posts and others much longer, some posts may even be just bullet points. I’d love you to take a look at Sue’s post for further information about the challenge.

Here in Central Victoria, July is usually one of the coldest months of winter, so as I will probably be spending more time indoors than usual, I plan to spend extra hours on my blogs. This challenge fits in perfectly with that plan.

Message from Sue: Here is the list of topics and I do hope that you will have some fun and enjoy this ‘challenge’ for July. Remember NO PRESSURE, some days you may find inspiration from the prompt and want to write and other days you won’t. I would also love to hear your feedback and perhaps you have some topics you could add to the list going forward.

Day 10: What My Favourite Day Would Be

My first thought was to say my favourite day would be to jump on a plane, heading of to an exotic destination for a restful holiday. Yes, I would love to do that again! But when I think of my favourite day, I’d rather keep it simple. Usually, most days for me are a rush. Rushing off to work. Rushing home to get into the gym or to fit in some type of exercise. Rushing through the housework, so that I can spend time doing the things I’d rather be doing.

Bearing that in mind, my favourite day would be a day of no rushing. A day where I could just chill, relax, slow down and generally smell the roses a bit more. I do, of course, get days like this, but they are few and far between. Days where I would sleep just a little longer and have a leisurely breakfast. I would then spend the day pottering in the garden and catching up on all those gardening jobs that are always a bit overdue. We might go for coffee. Also, we might take Oscar, our toy poodle for a walk in the national park that adjoins our land. Of course there would be a big chunk of time to read and for leisurely blogging. Again, without having to rush. This would be my favourite day. As much as I love my life, I dream of days like this.

Day 11: What Brings Me Joy

What occurs to me when I think of joy, is my life as a young Mum with three beautiful children. I loved being a Mum and I feel that life at that time  was very joyous.

Of course it was an ordinary life we lived, and not a perfect life with all the challenges that family life can bring. Life was also made a little more complicated due to us being self employed and needing to spend more time than usual in and on our business. But through it all, I always really enjoyed our life with our children from the time they were tiny babies until the time they left home as late teenagers. We did everything together as a family, and I always felt very thankful that my children wanted to be with us, even as they became teenagers.

As an aside, my daughter’s middle name was Joy, which was also my mother’s middle name. I always thought it very apt that we gave her this name as life with her was indeed very joyous and memorable, as it was with all my children. 

 

Day 12: Who inspires me

I am constantly inspire by my ancestors, who gave up so much, to give their families a better life. Those sacrifices have also given me and my family a better life in Australia. I often wonder what life would have been like for me if my great great grandparents John and Martha Taylor hadn’t made what must have been a difficult decision, to leave Wales and start a new life in Australia.

What if they had stayed in Wales? What would life have been like for me, if I’d been born in Wales? I’ve visited Wales and found it to be a beautiful country, but I’m not so sure that I could live there. I’m sure that the colder and much wetter weather conditions, would not be conducive to the outdoors lifestyle that is so important to me.

I’m constantly in awe and inspired by each of my ancestors who made that decision to try for a better life, in what was then an unknown country, I owe it to them to live the best life that I possibly can to honour that decision made so long ago.

Day 13: My Favourite Time of Year

My favourite time of the year has to be autumn. I love summer with it’s hot summer days, but living in central Victoria, summer comes with its challenges, such as lack of rainfall causing drought conditions and extremely hot days. I love the garden and enjoy spending a full day weeding, planting and generally nurturing it. But the heat of summer usually causes me stress as I try to keep my precious plants alive.

With the onset of autumn, with its gorgeous sunny days and cooler nights, finally I can relax and once again rediscover my enthusiasm for the garden. We are surrounded by bush, so other than the garden, there is very little colour here in autumn. But I love to go into town and walk in Autumn, so that I can see the glorious colours and walk through the autumn leaves on the ground. This simple thing is really important to me and gives me so much pleasure.

Autumn also brings with it the possibility and hope for rain. Being on tank and dam water and with a large garden, hopes for rain are never far away.

Day 14: Best Holiday

I’ve had many fantastic holidays both here in Australia and overseas, so many  that I find it too difficult to choose the best. One of my most enjoyable holidays was my trip to USA to visit my friend Kate in 1996. Kate had been my penfriend for many years and we had become close friends but had never met. After my son died in 1995, Kate invited me over to stay with her if I felt that I needed time out. The thought of time away from all the sadness and tragedy that had become my life was more than enticing so I packed my bags and headed off for my first overseas adventure.

We spent three weeks together in Sante Fe, New Mexico, where Kate was living at the time, and teaching at a school for the deaf. While Kate was working I spent my days investigated this incredible city with its adobe style houses and shopping centre. Everywhere I looked, I saw signs of an artistic community. After spending time with my friend, I travelled by myself for another three weeks, and made wonderful memories that I will never forget.  This holiday as well as being great fun, was also a time of healing for me.