I’m back at work now after a quick trip to Nicola and Jeff’s for Easter. We left Sydney at 6:00 on Saturday morning, without Karl, who for whatever reason, decided he didn’t want to go. We had a great trip up there and arrived at about 12:30pm. It was meant to be a surprise for Nic for her 40th, but since we all arrived at different times, the surprise was just about who would turn up. The rest of the family were all down at the beach, so we followed them down there, but all decided to come back for lunch and go down again later. Their house is about 3km out of town on a ‘rural’ estate. All the houses are on 2.5 acre blocks and all have been built in the last 2 years. They are on the starting slopes of a big hill on the road from Crescent Head to Kempsey. Their place backs on to a swamp and there is a wide open space about one kilometre across and about two km wide that is used as grazing land. Kangaroos sun themselves in the paddock and sometimes come up onto their property. Nic and Jeff have a great balcony overlooking this swamp and of course, we ate most of our meals out there. Everyone enjoyed looking for kangaroos and picking them out. I think the novelty has worn off Nic’s kids though.

Mum had warned me that the house was only just habitable, but I was surprised at how much work still has to be done. Obviously it is a big improvement on the small place they had in Kempsey, and even their place in Dubbo, but it will take Jeff a long time to finish it all off. None of the architraves are finished, and so the painting has still to be done. Everywhere I looked I saw something that would take at least a weekend to finish. Brendan and Chiara are both playing weekend sport now, so I imagine both Mum and Dad will be required for that. I wonder how Jeff will be able to juggle being a dad and building a house.

We were able to sleep on the floor in a room that has not been furnished yet, but Pat and Jacinta stayed in a unit in town. I’m glad we stayed in the house, because otherwise we would have missed most of the opportunities to spend time with them. Although Pat and Jac both spent a lot of time at the house, they missed out on breakfasts, and chats late in the night and all those things that you get when sharing a house.

Jeff had planned for a bonfire on Saturday night and started it at about 4pm. The kids loved it and of course, we had to watch closely to make sure they weren’t setting fire to the place. Nic had made up some dough and they put damper on a stick and roasted it over the fire. We barbequed marinated chicken (probably not that common among stockmen) and had hommos dip. It really felt like we were roughing it out in the middle of the bush – with the added benefit of a comfortable bed.

It was great to see Gianna. It is easy to forget how clearly she has the characteristics associated with Downs. It is really striking with her bright red hair and blue eyes. Nic told us that they are certain now that she has the more severe form of Downs. They are spending a lot of time teaching her to sign as well as to talk. Apparently, children with Downs often have trouble speaking and they have a lot of frustration because they can’t communicate their needs. Sign language can bridge the gap while they are learning to talk. It is interesting to compare Gianna and Danielle. We saw Danielle on Friday and Gianna on Saturday, so the comparison is inevitable. Danielle is clearly far more aware than Gianna, but I think she is less verbal than Gianna. Danielle is further advanced in standing up, but not a lot further. Gianna is two months older than Danielle. Considering her condition, it looks like she is doing very well. I think it will be difficult for Nic and Jeff in trying to determine what they can reasonably expect of Gianna. There is a fine line between encouraging her to do all that she can, which is probably far more than most kids with Downs, and making her feel bad for not being able to do things. From our experience with Lauren, I think kids with disabilities are consistently underestimated. Unfortunately, too many children fall to the level of their parents and teacher’s expectations.

Therese and Phil surprised Nic with a visit, arriving as we were eating dinner on Sunday night. Daniel had stayed in Sydney, and Emily and Joel had already come up with Jacinta, so they were driving only with David. Apparently, it was a last minute decision after they had had lunch with Tony Lorizio. It was nice to see them too but it was a pity they didn’t arrive for Saturday night.

Coming home yesterday, we had a great trip except for one section where we were caught in bumper to bumper traffic all the way from Bulladehlah to Karuah. What is normally a 20 minute drive turned in to an hour and a half. It turned out that there were a few reasons. An accident that closed the Gloucester road had added more traffic to an already busy Pacific Highway. There was roadwork on that stretch of road and several overtaking lanes were blocked – even though no work was being done over the weekend. It tested our patience, but we all survived with very little damage.

As always happens when I travel to an idyllic location, I start to wonder about the possibility of moving there. Crescent Head really is a beautiful spot. I started to think about telecommuting, and how often I would need to travel to Sydney. Of course, Donna burst that bubble by bringing up schools, and Lauren’s swimming training. Still it is great to dream sometimes.