It’s a funny thing, one of my very first posts on this platform was written while I was sitting in the pub waiting for my friends to get there… and that is where this one started as well.

It is karaoke night… I haven’t been for ages because life has been busy, but I am excited to see who our singers will be and how it will go. I don’t think that I’ll have a super late night – not like some of them have been, but it is always a good time! There is something about the music and the atmosphere that just makes me happy, and that feels like a good thing after the last few weeks.

Last week was particularly hard. You may have read the post before this one.. that was a true story. One of my girlfriends had one of the most shocking experiences that I could imagine. My friend is ok… she is working through things and I know that she will be fine, but it’s been a whole lot of darkness for her, which is shit! It has been a lot to think about … and it came at the end of all of my hard dates, and that somehow made it even more to think about.

So this week I have been doing some things to turn some of that heaviness around. I had wine time with some of my girlfriends mid week (the things you can do when there is a public holiday!). It was a much needed oestrogen boost, and all kinds of topics were discussed and analysed… cheese and wine for the win!

I also went and spent time with the cows at the Ekka – the Royal National Show for those not based in Brisbane – a ‘fair’ where the country comes to the city, and all manor of things are compared and judged competitively – from cakes, to craft, to wood chopping and cooking and of course the livestock! Dagwood dogs (sausages dipped into batter that are deep fried and then drenched in tomato sauce), fairy floss and strawberry sundaes – the staple food choices of the show, and then a gazillion dollars spent on show bags… It was a gloriously sunshiny, super busy, crowded day, but just what the doctor ordered – and we all know, quality time with cows is one of my favourite things!

Karaoke and dinner finished out the week. We sang our little hearts out – not on stage, we like to spare everyone that punishment, but at our table. It is the best kind of joyful energy and I love it! Some of my boys were also there, and it was fun teasing them about getting on stage and doing a duet with mum!! – which was a hard no all round!

A weekend spent tidying in the garden, and in the house, and a whole lot of cooking has made me feel like I’ve restored some order in my world. I tend to find that my space often reflects my mental state, and it’s all been a little bit messy for a while. There is still more to go – there always is, but I’ll keep chipping away at it bit by bit. It is all just ‘one day at a a time’ with a whole lot of forwards and backwards, but eventually, I hope, it will all feel ok!