I take a small sip of my coffee and close my eyes. The breeze swirls around me and goosebumps appear on my arms. It's a beautiful day - Brisbane finally getting the hint that Summer is gone. We're back at our favourite park, and it seems dozens of families have had the same idea.
Eyes still closed, I try to make my body relax. Put aside the tension and the angst of the past few weeks and just feel happy, even for just a moment. I start at my toes, kicking off my shoes and burying them in the soft grass. Deep slow breaths as I listen to the sounds around me. The breeze, whipping through the trees, making the heavy branches sway, almost as they have put on a show for us. Autumn leaves are carried along with it, meandering down to the thousands of others already on the ground.
I hear balls being kicked around, by several groups. It seems just the day for a friendly game of soccer. I hear Sammy, squealing as Joel kicks a brightly coloured Wiggles ball to him, and he races down the grassy hill to catch it. I hear Alexander (most definitely using an outside voice) and the random friend he has picked up - running madly from the alien monsters they have conjured from their minds. I smile as they take shelter in their rocket ship, helping each other up the ladder.
I hear the murder of crows, always present at this park. They never fail to remind me of my father (crows are his favourite bird, he loves to remind us of how smart they apparently are). For a moment I am sad again, thinking about how lost he is. I think of her, and how we used to come here together. I push it aside, this week is hard enough without dwelling on it today.
The crows are in fine voice today, almost drowning out the sound of families bonding, laughing over birthday cakes and balloons. "Pirates" in the wooden ship throw things overboard and scooters whizz by, almost taking out pedestrians, lazily strolling the path. I speak to a lady who hasn't visited this park in almost 50 years, here for the birthday of her great grandson. She marvels at how it has changed, the playground for the children, the bbq areas, while so much is the same. My own mother used to come here as a child too, and I love knowing that the huge Bunya Pines we are sitting under, that my children are playing in, are the same ones my mother did.
Another deep breath and I smell the pine trees, sausages and bacon. The latter two make me retreat back to my coffee, trying to escape their reach. I hate sausages. The sky is a beautiful blue today, with huge fluffy white clouds like pillows. I lay back and stare at them and I feel my muscles relax. For as long as I can remember, cloud watching has been one of my favourite things to do.
Soon enough the fluffy white clouds have made way for some darker, more ominous rainclouds and we are on our way home. I steel myself to take this more relaxed mood home with me and spend the last hours of our long weekend wrapped up in my 3 men.
