The day dawned with me waking up in my comfy bed, in the back of my station wagon, in a paddock on a friend's property after a Steampunk Ball (you'll have to google that!) and as my befuddled brain carefully assessed the state of my being, I noted a developing migraine but all ok otherwise.
sunrise begins the whole of life
a new everything
the hope and glory of potential
shining into your eyes
if only you have them open
no photoshop!
After a painkiller and some more sleep, nature called very loudly, so I jumped over into the driver's seat and drove to my sister's home close by. Gotta love families, no need for politeness as I ran through the house, straight for the toilet.
As we sat on the verandah and drank coffee, my mind turned to Australian-ness, what it is and isn't. Through all the beer drinking barbies, I suspect most of us at some point in the day have a think about it, it is fascinating in part because we are making it as we go, more than other countries, our identity is still in the forming stage.
My family came from Finland in the winter of 1969, Mum, Dad and two sisters.
None of us spoke English, I could count to ten, which didn't prove to be that useful.
We had a trusty little dictionary that went with us everywhere, it was more useful than my counting, but no substitute for speaking Oz, it still makes me smile to remember asking for chicken in a takeaway shop
'can we have a hen please?
During my first days in Australia, I developed chicken pox, so had to stay home and listen in awe to the others' descriptions of the ocean, just across the road.
My Mum could not believe its power, she lost her footing and went under, her swimming had all been in calm lakes near the shore. Even now, she swims rarely and keeps a nervous eye on the waves.
When I finally got down there, I could hardly believe what I was seeing, the huge heaving mass of water, stretching in vastness way beyond the distant horizon...and so began a true love affair that is as strong today as ever :)
It's been said before, and it might be hard to understand for the peoples of the world who are more detached from their natural environment, but it is really the land that unites us Aussies.
The national characteristics of all cultures have been shaped by their environments, perhaps so far back in their memories that it isn't easy to see any longer, but here we cannot escape it, our peoples have only tamed very small portions of this massive, colossal island, and even in the cities, we can feel her sheer size and ancient indomitability breathing at our backs.
My Mum, despite her European background of more 'civilized' landscapes, has come to appreciate and love the Australian bush and coastline, on a recent trip to the Kimberleys, I took her on a drive away from the town of Broome, as the road turned from a bitumen one, to a gravel road, to a 4-wheel drive track where we didn't really know where were going, she became progressively more scared, but thrilled at the same time, and at the beach, wandered off on her own little walkabout, returning with that unmistakable smile of contact with our timeless roots.
In the afternoon of Australia Day, I went to a party at a friend's bush property, complete with a railway carriage done up for a home, dogs, babies, kids, young folk, old folk, and the others in between.
There were kegs of cold beer and local abalone and fish, sausages and meat and delicious salads and buttered bread - perfect!
There was a game of cricket in the paddock, and brawling for fun in the black dirt, at one point I saw my daughter's legs sticking out, from under a pile of girls.
Australia Day.
On Facebook.
Which is a fine thing, as far as I'm concerned, the more debates on FB about important issues, the better.
My friend, my opponent (whom I'll call R) does not celebrate Oz day at all, since it marks the landing of
the first fleet of British people onto Australian soil.
I asked his permission to post our debate, and he gave it, so you can read it here on my blog, I think it gives a good encapsulation of both sides of the ongoing issue.
Next year, I will also celebrate :)
Although I don't wave a flag or go to official events, in my personal life the day has progressed, from being largely ignored, to being a significant community and family celebration.
Traditions are a valuable backbone, to all the young Aussies growing up in this extraordinary land.
I'll leave you with more pics from Jamie :)
{feel free to contact him on Facebook for prints}
XX KK
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