My last post re my date was intended to be a two parter, let's just say it went well. He's nice, the dinner was nice, it was all very... nice. He confessed when we sat down to eat that it was his first ever date and was really rather nervous. I found this quite sweet and proceeded, with my own limited experience, to set a good example - pouring the wine, continuing conversation etc etc. And aside from the intensely awkward goodnight kiss, I had fun.
There is only one problem. He is intensely annoying. He talks about money all the time, and he complains. Boy, oh boy, does he complain. About everything. From the weather to the size of my breasts (imagine "they're just so... big." My response "well you don't have to touch them"). He can be fun sometimes, and he does have other attributes (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), so I just think we'll keep it casual for the time being.
Last month I headed back to the east coast for the wedding of two wonderful wonderful people. I got to stay in the Hunter Valley for a couple of nights and catch up with a whole bunch of people that I hadn't had a chance to speak to since moving over here which was just divine. I did manage to make a new friend too, and am now in the middle of an outrageous cross country text flirtation. I'll admit that I'm rather enjoying it.
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| How's the serentity... Seriously, you could hear cows mooing |
I also got to experience the true horror of having both my parents in the same place at the same time after, at least, 15 years of non communication. The bride in her magnanimity invited them both, and at least one of them behaved like a mature adult. As a trial run for future family scenarios, while it could have gone better, it wasn't all bad. I had been imagining a myriad nightmarish situations - running from screaming arguments to a passionate rekindling of a long dead flame - so Mother's out and out rejection of his existence coloured with more than a hint of disdain was a happy medium I could live with.
Following the wedding, I spent a delightful yet exhausting five days with my Grandma in the Southern Highlands. Her 87 years have, unfortunately, caught up with her. The once feisty and whip-sharp woman has become forgetful, frustrated and frustrating. My Dad is living with her at the moment and, in an attempt to find some way through what he and his sister are feeling, is attempting to quantify the change in her behaviour. Something I have a (currently) mild distaste for. Unfortunately for the siblings the only diagnosis they have received is that of 'Mild Cognitive Disorder' i.e. she is an 87 year old woman. Equally unfortunately, I have a very strong feeling that this is only the beginning of something that most families will go through, something that we are going to have to navigate with sensitivity and a level head.
In my head I had marked this trip as the point were I decided whether to buy a one way ticket home or continue on my Kalgoorlie journey. Obviously, I went for the return option, but it has thrown up a whirl of thoughts about home and connection and priorities. When the dust settles I'm sure I'll know what to do. If I don't already.
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