Treat them different , love them the same.

I've often had one boy or other say to me that one of the sibs gets special treatment!

Yes they do i always answer.

I treat you all differently because you are all different.

But i love you all exactly the same.

Its a gentle little home that russ and i have created.

The squabbles are few and far between. Lots less now that they are older. But even as small kids( i don't mean toddlers who are still learning the whole sharing the world with other people situation) they would all cheerfully get on with each other.

Today as i was huffing and puffing on my treadmill on the back deck i was watching through the glass sliding door and was a bit overcome at the gentle men in my life.

In the background i can hear Alex practising his accoustic for his first gig at the high school speech night. In the kitchen Russ has just got home from work and is putting the roast on for dinner. (my turn to cook tonight but my work at my desk here at home met with computer complications so i was behind schedule. He stepped in like he always does. Bless him)

Jake has spent the afternoon at the beach without sunscreen (Life lesson there) and his big bro Ben is putting some aloe vera spray cold from the fridge on his back, quite enjoying the shock value I'm sure, but also cheerfully helping his brother out.

If there was an audience not one of them would do what they do.
But when its us, at home, there's a caring for the rest of the tribe...............



............................



.............a bit like monkeys really!

My Newsletter article for November December 2007

From Linda with Love.
I Love Christmas! I always have. The celebration of the reason for the season. The time for family and sharing and special food and yes, also the gift giving.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being on the receiving end of a beautiful gift, (especially the ones in velvet boxes.) But one of my greatest joys is the giving of the perfect gift. As the final layer of paper is unwrapped there is the little gasp of breath and then the look of delight, as they catch your eye; and for that moment they can see that you are in tune with them! Love it!
As wives and mothers our pre Christmas time becomes a
“survivor” style marathon of shopping, card making, card writing, card sending, gift buying and wrapping then sending , School break ups and concerts and find a gift for the teacher , work parties and secret Santa gift buying: Christmas decorating: Food shopping ahead of schedule and then back again for the perishables ; will the shops be open? Pre cooking, then storing don’t touch it its for Christmas and on and on to the ultimate goal of a fuss free perfect Christmas day. What would happen if we missed a task? Would the family get together and vote us off the island?
Are they expecting The Martha Stewart” Christmas, or is it just us?
Would Christmas still be Christmas without the fuss?
You betcha!
So here is my Christmas wish for us all. I hope the shops sell out of tinsel and you have to make do with homemade paper chains and that the whole family help you make it! I hope that wonderful rain comes through in a fabulous summer storm and takes out the power and you make do for Christmas dinner. It’s the sharing of the food, not the food itself! I hope you make something for your gift to your loved ones. Watch their faces as they unwrap it! Come and see me if you want ideas! Wrap it in brown paper that you have decorated yourself!
Don’t send cards at time this year. Send them in January instead or even better, ring your Christmas card list and wish them a heartfelt Merry Christmas over the phone. Want to thank someone? Do it personally, shake their hand and tell them what they have meant to you this year!
And lastly bring your family close around you and tell them what they mean to you at this blessed time of year and truly celebrate the season.
Merry Christmas to you all. Love LindaX
(Disclaimer: Of course the frenzy of materialism referred to above in no way reflects on card making, scrap booking or any kind of paper craft. They are, of course, an essential service and as such, compulsory for our well being.)