Mothers Day

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day. The day started with fresh pancakes while we gave mum our Mother’s Day gifts. It’s a bit unfortunate that my Mum is celiac because she couldn’t eat the pancakes. Dad pulled a big rescue though and made her GF French toast which she loved.

Audrey and Dad got Mum a pair of earrings that she had been wanting for a while. Grace and I bought her handmade frogs sitting on a log to add to her massive collection.

After breakfast, we all packed up and got ready to go up river. Food, kayaks, MARSHMALLOWS(!) dog, fishing gear and some warm clothes. Soon enough, we were off along the gravel road that is absolutely not bumpy at all, or maybe a little bit, a bit more, well, very bumpy. The car was jumping around everywhere and we were all almost knocking our heads together. I turned around and see Fibi (our dog) standing up and barely keeping 4 paws on the ground. I don’t mean to be cruel but it was hilarious. The others wondered what I was laughing at but when they saw, they too cracked up.

Finally, we thought we made it to the turn off to the river, but when we turned we found a great big pile of rocks and extreme 4wd tracks. We three kids were thinking that it was definitely the wrong way, but dad thought otherwise. He drove over the rocks and almost terrified Mum going up, but when we were going down the other side we only found a dead end and a turnaround spot. It was definitely the way to the river… not.

Back the way we came, over the rocks and the scary 4wd track. Not only were we disappointed but felt awfully sorry for our terrified dog in the back. Dad didn’t seem affected.

Finally, we made our way to the correct turn off and found the perfect spot to set up. Everyone stumbled out of the car and raced to get Fibi out. The poor dog had nearly been knocked out from flying halfway across the car boot. As I pulled the tailgate down she sprung out like she could fly, tail wagging and full of relief that the torture was finally over.

Within a few minutes we were all unpacked, Dad was fishing, Mum and Audrey were on the kayaks while Grace and I were trying to set sticks on fire with flint and steel. It doesn’t work. Once we had sore hands and were just about to give up, dad found the newspaper and matches. “Really? Now?”

When Mum got back from her adventure along the river we all felt hungry so we had our lunch, or maybe we just wanted to hurry up and eat our lunch so we could get to the marshmallows. The ready-packed sushi disappeared quickly, and soon enough I was looking at an empty container, feeling disappointed. (As you do when the you realize you ate all the sushi).

Finally, after the torturous wait, Mum got out the giant marshmallows. They were  as big as my palm! We all stuck one on the end of the longest stick we could find and the slow, careful, precise and gentle marshmallow toasting process began… or should I say the extreme, dangerous, skillful and not at all gentle, melting marshmallow wars began! We were all trying to steal some of one other‘s sticky marshmallow or trying to knock off one another’s into the fire.

After lunch and marshmallow wars it was Dad and Grace’s turn kayaking. Dad went one way and Grace went the other although all eyes were on Dad while he tried fishing off the kayak. It was quite funny to watch when he cast his rod… it looked like he would fall off. Just before Grace returned, Dad caught a fish! Unfortunately, it was only a small bream, too small to keep and not funny enough to watch him pull it in.

Eventually, Dad gave up fishing off the kayak, which was unfortunate because it was quite entertaining. But at least now it was my turn for an adventure. Mum came with me and of course, wherever Mum goes, the dog goes. We went all the way across the river, stopping every now and then making sure Fibi hadn’t drowned.

We came across a sand bar on the other side where Fibi could finally stop and catch her breath, before I ran with her as far across the sand bar as possible, as fast as I could. Fibi barely made a jog. When we got back to the kayaks, we hopped in and started along the other side of the sand bar. We slowly paddled down, laughing our heads off watching Fibi jump in and out of the water, sometimes running, sometimes swimming her legs off trying to keep up.

The small and sandy sandbar quickly turned into an overgrown island separating the main river course and the small tributary. We hadn’t gone far, a hundred metres or so, but already we couldn’t see the main waterway anymore. Further down the stream, we found a nice spot to stop and have a rest. As we heaved the kayaks up the beach, I suddenly felt a shock of inquisitiveness and just needed to see what was on the other side of the dune. So I ran up and had a look, much to my surprise, on the other side was a large paddock filled with goats. I then saw how close I was to the goats, thinking I should probably step back a bit. Then, in the corner of my eye, was a troop of kangaroos. Definitely time to step back and remove the intrusive, chasing dog from the scene.

As I quietly crept back towards the kayaks, I felt my heart pumping faster than I could count. The close encounter had almost petrified me, but when I saw Fibi messing with Mum I forgot all about it and couldn’t help but smile.

Back in the kayaks, with our worn out dog struggling to keep up, we were about to turn back when we found a narrow inlet and followed it back into the main stream. From there we slowly made our way back to the beach where the car was parked, regularly checking that Fibi hadn’t drowned.

When we got back to the beach it was almost 3 o’clock and everyone was either worn out or ready for a hot shower. So we all helped pack up and prepared ourselves for the long, bumpy and sore ride awaiting us. Although, not all the fun was over, we still had to cool the ashes from the fire. So I quickly grabbed an empty water bottle before someone else stole the task. I filled the water bottle and slowly I poured it over the ashes. It was an amazing sight, just to see water on hot ash, it was like a miniature geyser. The water poured down would heat very quickly and it would launch about 50 centimetres into the air. I was flabbergasted!

In time, we arrived home. But by that time it was almost 5 o’clock, and we were all exhausted and ready for a nice, hot shower. As every day does, this wonderful day ended too, but I reckon it was about time as I needed a sleep.

One thought on “Mothers Day

  1. Tom, your cheekiness and sense of humour really show through in this post. I enjoyed it very much.

    Can you please set up some categories and tags for your posts. I’ve done it for you but you might want to change them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *