In Brisbane for Deirdre's 50th Birthday
A quick rush up to Brisbane on QANTAS after the EMAC Course to make sure I was at Deirdre's 50th birthday party. Deirdre is my second eldest sibling, and the one that continuing the run of 50th birthdays that we're having in the family this decade. We managed to get eight of the nine siblings together at Mary-Anne's place (Catriona couldn't make it), and had a take-away dinner and a bit of socialising with several of the kids from the next generation (the nephews and nieces) as well.
It was wonderful.
What I love about my family is that despite our very different paths (from the ultraleft to the ultraright, from the very rich all the way down to the not so rich, city folk that never leave the capital cities to people that live on massive remote properties and run cattle, climate change skeptics all the way through to some of us who are almost theological over the issue), we all still seem to believe in the family, and get-togethers are a magic affair. We argue, we bicker, and we love each other very much.
One of the best things of the night (and which is now a tradition for these birthdays is that we all share our own memories of the person having the birthday. In our case, there were several strong themes - Deirdre was stubborn as all hell (and tough as nails!) but she's by far the most generous person of anyone in the family. Countless stories of how she'd been there for all the family members. It was just wonderful, and made me glad to be a part of this family.
And I found out something interesting that I didn't know - Deirdre is famous! She is a regular presenter on ABC Radio Western Queensland as "The Country Kitchen Chef" and does a weekly segment presenting recipes for everyone. I'm going to make a point of listening into her when I can (ABC Local Radio streams all their local radio streams online). You can catch some of her recipes on the ABC Radio Western Queensland site.
I love that our family gets together like this. And we have a pile more 50th birthdays in the next 9 years (as well as my 40th wedged in there!).
It was wonderful.
What I love about my family is that despite our very different paths (from the ultraleft to the ultraright, from the very rich all the way down to the not so rich, city folk that never leave the capital cities to people that live on massive remote properties and run cattle, climate change skeptics all the way through to some of us who are almost theological over the issue), we all still seem to believe in the family, and get-togethers are a magic affair. We argue, we bicker, and we love each other very much.
One of the best things of the night (and which is now a tradition for these birthdays is that we all share our own memories of the person having the birthday. In our case, there were several strong themes - Deirdre was stubborn as all hell (and tough as nails!) but she's by far the most generous person of anyone in the family. Countless stories of how she'd been there for all the family members. It was just wonderful, and made me glad to be a part of this family.
And I found out something interesting that I didn't know - Deirdre is famous! She is a regular presenter on ABC Radio Western Queensland as "The Country Kitchen Chef" and does a weekly segment presenting recipes for everyone. I'm going to make a point of listening into her when I can (ABC Local Radio streams all their local radio streams online). You can catch some of her recipes on the ABC Radio Western Queensland site.
I love that our family gets together like this. And we have a pile more 50th birthdays in the next 9 years (as well as my 40th wedged in there!).