Gumnuts and spidermonkeys

When I was little we lived in a small old mining town that was basically heritage listed to preserve that little bit of Australian history. Summer was hot and the heat was like a sauna. There was a lot going on and always something to do. 

I would wake up early in the morning to see the blue sky outside my window and hear the kookaburra's laughing. I used to lay in bed and wiggle my toes, pretending I lived in the bush and I was like the people from the stories we learnt about at school. I used to imagine there were bottle brushes and eucalypts as far as I could see and the birds were so tame because there were so little people to disturb them. I used to pretend that there were only dirt roads and you did not need a car to go where you wanted to go. I remember wishing so hard that I lived in the bush and that I could know what it was like to be completely free of expectations and day to day stress. 

I also wanted my own possum with a big bushy brown tail and tiny little paws for digging. I was not greedy tho, I told myself I would be happy with just living in the bush and knowing there were possums around. I knew my possum might like his freedom and just knowing he would be happy was enough. 

It has been many many years and my home is now in a much bigger city. The kookaburra's do not announce the new day, the eucalypts are so few and far between and I do not remember the last time I saw a dirt road. Tonight I realised I did live in the bush! I did not live in the 1800's like the people in the stories I learnt about at school but I lived in such a gorgeous town and am so lucky to have these memories. I wonder whether my daughter will ever wake to wild bird calls and whether she will feel the heat of the new day from beneath a massive eucalypt tree. I will have to be creative to give her these kinds of experiences, so that when she is older she has these wonderful memories to cherish too.