Mum and I just had the best weekend in Sydney. We were looking forward to it for so long, and it's hard to believe that it is already over. We flew out of Launceston to lovely sunny skies (although it was a little bit fresh when we left)...
and flew into drizzly, foggy Sydney. Nothing could dampen our excitement though. We were excited to have a great weekend together. It was actually the first time I had ever been away on my own without Aaron or the boys.
We headed straight into the city and went to the markets for a quick look around (and a massage for me) and then to China Town to grab some tea, which was quite adventful and we had lots of laughs.
We wanted to make the most of our time while we were there as we only really had one and a half days, so we headed to Circular Quay. It was great having Chrish drive us around everywhere as he is such a pro driver, as he is used to driving trucks in the city all day. There is no way I would ever drive in Sydney.
We then jumped on a ferry to go to Manly for some dessert. Because the weather was so bad we weren't allowed on the outside decks, which was lucky as it was so rough when we got out to the open water. Despite how rough it was, it was worth it for a bit of fun and to see the beautiful view as we headed out.
At Manly we had a quick look around and then grabbed a hot chocolate and some lollies for the ferry ride back to the city.
On Saturday morning we headed to Sydney Olympic Park for TOFW (Time Out For Women). It was very exciting to see hundreds of women pouring through the doors. There was a huge line up to get into the Sports Centre and as you came through to show your tickets we were able to drop off our two items that we were asked to bring along to contribute to some 'possibilities packs' - personal care items which were going to be put together in a pack and donated to women who were escaping domestic violence, and were in shelters.
Later in the day we were told that Australia had set the record for the most packs being donated with over 430 packs being made up. These boxes are full of the made up packs to be donated to a local women's shelter. It's great to think that just two small items that we were asked to bring along, helped to make up so many packs.
TOFW was absolutely amazing!! There were over 2,000 women there from all around Australia, there was a lot of excitement in the air. I was thinking how it was probably unlike any TOFW event in the USA which are held in certain cities, because there is only one event in Australia. This meant that women came from all over the country and was really like one big reunion with friends and family catching up from different states. We had a lot of breaks, and during the breaks people everyone would just run and catch up with each other.
It was so nice to see some of my cousins and also friends who now live in other parts of the country. It was also wonderful having so many from Tasmania go to it. I heard there were over 40 of us from Tassie there all together.
One of the organisers came up to Leona and me as she spotted us with our 'good cameras' (as she put it). She then asked if we could take some photos for her and email them to her to possibly be used in different publications, so we of course were excited to go around snapping photos of different people all day. Sarah captured this on her phone :)
When we arrived we were each given a TOFW tote bag which are really cool. I can just see us all now sporting our bags at church.
We also got to meet all of the presenters which was great fun and it was very exciting to talk to them in person.
I LOVED the first speaker Laurel Christiansen's talk so much. She caught my interest right from the start as she talked about working out and training to run in a half marathon. I loved her quote that said 'don't be the one thing standing in your way', which reminded me that the only thing stopping me from doing certain things in my life, is myself.
The thing that I got most out of the whole day was that although our lives may not be what we planned them to be and we have moved on from our 'Plan A' to plan b, c, d, etc. we are actually still on 'plan A'. My life right now IS where it's meant to be, and is no surprise to God. I never would've planned or hoped to have a child with a disability, but this is still my 'Plan A'.
I also loved Hilary Week's talk about 'the clicker' and how we can choose to focus on either the negative or positives in our lives and how for her focusing on the negatives really brought her down.
We can make a choice to 'click' every time we experience a positive in our life , even just the little things, and this will help us to be optomistic and cope with everything that we have to in our lives - big or small. I guess I have always had this as my own philosophy in life. I could look at all the negatives that come along with having a child with a disability, or I can choose to see the positives, no matter how big or small. I know that if I focused on all the negatives I couldn't cope with the things that I need to do every day and I would also miss out on seeing all the blessing that come with caring for Noah and having him as a part of our family. That is why I love the quote 'don't count the days, make the days count' as I could choose to focus on how many more days we have to spend together with him, or just make the most of every day, and I choose the latter.
I took a lot of notes on my phone all day, and have so many amazing quotes and stories and scriptures to look back on. I really liked the quote from Laurel that said "hope is wanting what I want, faith is wanting what God wants."
A woman who works at the local women's shelter came to accept the 'possibilities packs' and spoke to us about domestic violence and how many women in the community are affected. It really reminded me about how lucky I am to have the family that I have.
Another highlight of the day for me was Hilary Weeks. It was wonderful to hear her amazing voice live, after listening to her on my CDs at home for many years.
At the airport Mum and I sat in the massage chairs and had a 15 minute massage before heading home.
The weekend went way too fast, but I was also glad to be home with my boys - glad to be back home to my 'plan A' :)
Lisa King has been married to Aaron for almost 16 years. They live in Tasmania, Australia and have four boys aged between twelve and three years old (Jalen, Noah, Harrison and Kobe). Their ten year old son Noah has a condition called hydranencephaly and is severely mentally and physically disabled. Lisa and Aaron were told Noah wouldn’t live past his fourth birthday, and has many health issues and challenges in life. They try not to count the days that we will have together, but to make the days count. Lisa is a former teacher but has been a stay at home Mum for the past twelve years, which she loves. Lisa also loves going to the gym and photography, especially capturing the every day moments and recording them on our family blog, to look back on in years to come.
Visit Lisa's Blog: The Kings
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