I’ve been away from my blog for a little while. Actually I possibly could have blogged a bit more except that every day life was a bit busier than usual.
Last weekend my Dad turned 60 and for months I had been planning to surprise him by turning up on his birthday (which is a big deal because he lives in Cairns which is about as far away from Perth in Australia that you can get). Turns out I managed to double whammy my Mum who is the Queen of all pranksters. At the end of August she hurt her back. It was bad, involved an ambulance and morphine patches. My brother and sister in law kindly paid for Little L and I to fly over to Cairns a week early but we didn’t tell Mum.
The flight from Perth to Cairns is always rotten (on Jetstar anyway). It leaves at 10pm and gets in at Cairns at 4am their time (2am our time). My brother picked us up and Little L and I had a little bit of rest before they all had to go off to their work/school/uni places. That morning I phoned my Mum using my mobile. I told her that it would be ok (she had a very bad reaction to the morphine) and I’d be there in a weeks time while all the while sitting in my brother’s living room only 10 mins drive away.
That afternoon I dressed Little L in her nurses dressups and we got in the car and went over to my parents place. They were in their office so we sent in Little L, in her cute nurses dressups complete with stethoscope and ferrer rocher chocolates. My sister in law had gone in before us to say that she had a friend thats a nurse in the car and would Mum mind if ‘he’ came in to check her back injury? Well, the ‘friend’ was Little L and in she trotted. Mum was so shocked and so was Dad and even more so as I walked in after them. It was fantastic! Little L said to her ‘I’ve come to fix your back Nana’. Cute!
So, I was able to help out my parents. I was also there for Father’s Day which was special. Dad still had his work to do and they had a guest who is expecting and has children of her own, my sister in law works and my brother studies full time. I was able to help out with a few things and take the pressure off. By the end of the first week or so Mum started feeling better. Her Doctor advised movement and the more she moved the better she felt.
By the end of the nearly two weeks we were able to have the birthday party we’d planned all along for Dad with one extra surprise, his best mate and his wife, long time family friends who flew all the way from Mukinbudin in Western Australia for the occasion. Here’s how we did it. We went to the botanical gardens, our friends were in the cafe waiting and we made Dad sit by the front gate. Each of us family members had two clues written down and we sent Dad on a little wild goose chase through the gardens. The final destination was the cafe where we all were waiting by that time along with his surprise guests who had their backs to him. As he got closer he saw there were two people sitting at our table and then they turned around. Priceless. Shock. Amazement. Off came his glasses as he rubbed his eyes hardly believing it. Ahh it was all worth it.
So, here’s Cairns in 12 photos. It doesn’t cover it all of course but you get the picture.
The Pier, Cairns
Father’s Day. This is my brother and my Dad.
Toby the Cockatoo from down the road.
Pineapple growing in Dad’s garden.
Little L and her cousin.
My nephew painting.
Me!
The amazing Filipino Jade Vine, my fav in the whole of Cairns Botanical Gardens.
Little L at the gardens.
Dad and his best mate Len.
60!
Mum and Little L
Sounds like you had fun in Cairns. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. It truly is the gate way to the best places on earth.
Hope you can come and visit again soon.
So glad you got to spend some time with your family.
Love that you got to make a few special surprises too!
[...] to deal with rejection. ~Receiving a phone-call that my Mum had hurt her back and was in hospital. Flying to Cairns unexpectedly to help out Mum for two weeks. ~Celebrating my Dad’s 60th birthday with a [...]