Onwards and Upwards No. 7
Hello me healing team,
I hope this update finds you well!
Our last update two weeks ago had us sitting in the hills of Adelaide where the 30+ deg Celsius weather set in. Just fab! We have done a lot since then travelling north through the Clare Valley wine region, up to the Flinders Ranges, then across NSW through Broken Hill, Dubbo and to Blackheath in the Blue Mountains where we sit currently. We have seen some truly amazing scenery, tried some awesome food and met some great people!! It seems to be Riley and Georgia who blaze the trail in meeting new people. As soon as we get to any caravan park, Riley gets on his Richmond Tigers mountain bike, and Georgia on her Barbie BMX, and they do the reconnaissance on whether the games room is any good, whether the toilet facilities are clean (for Sarah), and whether there are any other kids in the park. Invariably, within four minutes, recon is complete and they are on the jumping pillow with any kids they have managed to round up. Scarily they typically have the same success as the pied piper at attracting other kids. The upside is that we are soon yakking with the other kids parents, and in this way, have now made many new friends, people who we hope to stay in touch with for a long time…….you know who you are!
The Clare Valley was relaxing and beautiful. It has the benefit of historic little towns, wineries and great food set in a very country Australian setting. It was stinking hot most of the time so until we acclimatised, we experienced a lot of it from the air conditioned comfort of the car. However, we were brave enough to get out and taste some of the boutique wines (with Riesling the specialty) that the region had to offer. Sevenhills Winery is the oldest in the region as it was established in the 1800s by the Lutheran Church. I was amazed that they have Alter Wine on the cellar door. It was the cheapest wine they stocked! It took me back to my childhood days when we went to church. If they sold alter bread we would have considered staying for lunch.
The Flinders Ranges was nothing short of spectacular. It is situated in outback South Australia and features a rugged mountain range with amazing geological escarpments. The flora and fauna were something special. There were plenty of lizards, kangaroos, families of emus, wild goats and eagles to name a few. The biggest challenge was keeping the kids under the illusion that all of those kangaroos on the side of the road were ‘just sleeping’, especially when there were emus, kangaroos and goats all sleeping together. We stayed at a camp set up on a dusty old sheep station where we met some great new friends which was refreshing for us and the kids. We did plenty of awesome walks and scenic drives visiting deserted historic mining camps, stockman settlements and taking in the views of the mountains! All just awesome. It was recommended that we go to the town Parachilna for specialty cuisine. I thought to call one single pub sitting by itself in the middle of the outback a ‘town’ was a bit of a stretch, but who am I to judge. At the pub they had a ‘Feral Plate’ made up of emu, kangaroo, croc, drop bear and few other iconic Aussie animals. Luckily I no longer eat red meat.
From the Flinders Ranges we dashed through Broken Hill where we were intending to stay a few days. Unfortunately one of the pubs that we visited had an Abba cover band so we quickly left the pub and Broken Hill. Dubbo was nice, however, I really don’t think there is much there other than the zoo. It has me baffled as to why they set up an open range zoo in the middle of nowhere. I guess it gives the truck drivers and grey nomads something to do on their days off. Helps break up the drive.
Now we find ourselves in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. We left Dubbo at 10am and it was 37deg cel to arrive four hours later in Blackheath to 20 deg cel, thunder lightning and pouring rain. Actually, it didn’t start raining until half way through our ‘quick walk to use up the kids energy’. It quickly turned from a forest walk into a ‘rainforest walk’ (bbbwwwwaaahhhh excuse the dad joke). The views, walks and scenery are every bit as good as you see on TV. Just great!!
I have included a handful of picture representing our trip thus far. A few from each place. Next we head to Sydney to visit family and friends, then our adventure continues south along the SE coast of NSW. Stay tuned.
So now for my reflection of the week.
Since being diagnosed I have read widely and one consensus for staying well relates to keeping your mind well. Pivotal to that is maintaining a positive disposition, a positive outlook for the future. Over the past six months of me sending updates, many of you have commented to me on how positively I represent myself. I think back to when I was first diagnosed when things didn’t seem so positive. I stated then that I was going to beat this disease and I firmly believe that now. I think I have the right things in place to kick cancer, or at least live with it to a very old age. However, sometimes I do sit back and my science brain pulls out the statistics. The stats that say I don’t have long to live (well not long enough for my liking). I think ‘am I just bluffing myself by using an aura of positivity in unrealistic defiance of the statistics’? Some doctors would say I am.
I think NO!! I’m not bluffing. I am positive about living a long time! I’ve made a decision and that decision is to live long enough to see my kids have kids, to see my kids get old, to see retirement age and beyond, to enjoy my post work years. To get to a passing age that most think is normal. Whilst I do think that I am going to have a hilly road ahead of me dealing with cancer, i won’t be taken unreasonably early. Why do I think this?? Firstly, I am positive because it is in my genes. I was raised in a positive environment. Secondly, I am positive because my intuition tells me I am doing the right things. Whilst I am in a space with many unknowns, I feel that I am doing it right. Lastly, I have the right support. My healing team support me by being positive and by enabling me to do what I need. For that, I thank you.
Take care
Geoff
