The date.

I had such a delightful morning with Lilly that I wanted to include it in my blog. After dropping Morgan at school and speaking with his teacher, I found that we had no plans for the day – apart from my writing deadlines which I have been notoriously bad at keeping, and a research mission for my sister for a baby walker for Blake – now 6 months old.

I had meant to check out the schools training restaurant, so thought that today was a great day to do so. I’d worked as a lecturer at Portsmouth Tech Uni ( sort of a mix of TAFE and UNI) and they had a full blown restaurant and bar there – so was well prepared for the learnings that the students would be going through to have the confidence to serve us.

I would have to say that I was very impressed at the professional outlook the café had and the seriousness that the students took in serving us. The food was top notch and extremely well priced and I can see that this little outing will become a regular one. I am hoping I can include Morgan as well as it seems so unfair we are out having a lovely time while he is at school. I try not to tell him what we are up to and just tell him we did boring mummy things, rather than “we went to Ikea or to the movies…” I am now really looking forward to visiting it in the evening as a family. Apparently they do cocktails for $4 a pop.. hummmm can’t wait.

Lilly had her handbag with her and had ensured she had brought her bracelets and necklaces as well. ( one cannot go out of the door without these key items) We sat at a table and I thought it a great time to introduce her to table manners in a restaurant and the niceties. I was so proud of my little girl. She delighted and surprised even me with her manners. She drank water from her large red wine glass and dabbed her mouth with a napkin like an old hand. It was almost too much for me as I muffled the giggles and proud tears at the same time.

She ordered scones, lots of cream and chips ( not on the same plate) and we shared an enormous club sandwich. The waitresses were fascinated by Lilly and her composure. Though at times her table talk was a little interesting. ( loudly announcing that she had been to the toilet that morning and showing all and sundry the band aid on her arm.) owever this was sprinkled with “ oh isn’t this a nice thing to be doing mummy? and “Isn’t the weather nice today?” Liza Dolittle, eat your heart out.

I was so proud of Lilly. She really took it all in and practiced using her knife and fork appropriately; used her napkin a lot and remembered to put her cutlery down every time she had a mouthful. She really can be such a delightful little cherub and I just shake my head wondering why she thinks it necessary to be so loud and obnoxious when Morgan is about. I wonder if competitive sibling spirit is an inbred thing as I am so careful not to compare the two. Ahh well, I am sure this is the beginning of a great space for Lilly and I.

Contact

On one of our many rambles today, Jodi and I recalled our first contact with the mobile phone. She remembered the big bag phone out in the paddocks and the chunky phones afterwards. Our conversation veered off onto some other tangent, but it got me thinking about the differences between now and when mobiles first made ‘contact’.

Adrian and I didn’t have a phone ( of any type) when we were living in the shed. We didn’t have a bathroom ceiling or a toilet floor and the howling icy winds didn’t let us forget that fact – but that’s another matter. So we invested ( and it was a pretty big amount) in a mobile phone. Its almost laughable now. A huge suitcase of a bag with an arial sticking out – the size of a ruler and as thick as your thumb. I stuck googly eyes on one side and gave it a nose and a collar and called it my lapdog. My phone now is so small I constantly lose it in my pocket. My handbag swallows it up completely and its been lost for days there.

I remember before this when we lived in Brisbane, we used to make plans and keep to time frames when we went out or met friends to go to the movies or out to the pub. If someone was late – you waited for them. Everyone had a watch. I don’t now and you don’t see too many with them on their wrists – we all look at our mobiles for the time….I remember my first road trip out to Blackall. We kept in contact with the three vehicles traveling – using a home base – someones mum answered the home phone and relayed messages every town we hit. It was exciting and mysterious – but on the large we survived with out a mobile….Nowdays you wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without a mobile.

Everything is so ‘now’ these days. If someone doesn’t have a mobile phone, you stat to think they are a bit strange. Look around you – count how many people have a Bluetooth set; count those who are texting, count the conversations had in cars and on buses and even in the loos. There is no peace anymore. You can be contacted and got at – everywhere. One of my peeves is when someone answers the phone, butthen says they are too busy to talk… Why answer it in the first place – let the answerphone or message bank deal with it…really.

Most phones now take better photos than many peoples digital cameras. They have so many gizmos attached to them you can just about cook a 3 course meal on the thing. I have to admit I enjoy the convenience of texting messages and being able to notify someone if I am running late – but I also deliberately turn it off or not to answer calls if I am busy or talking to a real person – like face to face.

Yet one thing irks me. Everyone is so contactable now days. But are we really? I would have thought the community spirit might have grown. People felt more connected with each other and those around them. Look around again – people on the phone, staring into the distance not really connecting with anyone around them. It’s a false connectivity. We are more available – but not emotionally. I think the technology allows us to take a step backwards, into our caves and allows us to put that extra piece of covering over our hearts.

Chess with Uncle Max

Well, Morgan has been bugging me every time we go to Uncle Max's to teach him how to play chess. We play checkers now and I am starting to have to really watch out for him as Morgan has a quick mind and love to see patterns and moves ahead.

We started playing with just the pawns - but that was too boring. So have graduated to the full set - the knights are still a bit tricky - but we have had fun in the mean time.