Ponderings Part 1

So.. B informs me that we're now at Day 112...

Wow... Like seriously... Wow.

I can't believe that it's now been that long already. I mean, there's no denying that we've gotten used to the lifestyle, dare I say it, even become complacent with it at times. I'd say the lack of blog updates might correspond with this as well.

Would I say the 'novelty' has worn off?

Probably not, but definitely the honeymoon period is over. The freshness and excitement that met every pack up and set down of the early few weeks is well and truly in the past. But I'm hoping that might also be something that we can recapture as we now pick the pace back up as we bid the Broome area farewell and head to the Kimberleys.

I've also managed to score a bluetooth keyboard that allows me to type and 'ponder' whilst we are offgrid.

(I'm currently sitting in a rest area a few kilometres short of the Bungle Bungles listening to... well nothing. The clamber of the keyboard is only occasionally interupted by a passing road train a few hundred metres away on the highway).

So as I sit here, closing in on the four month mark in a fortnight, I'm trying to get a handle on where we've come, where I've come, and where we and I might be going from here. I think i might be wise to ponder on a few things to help it get back into perspective, and ensure I get the most out of this trip.

TIME WITH THE KIDS:

Currently at 112 days non stop, I've hung out with the kids around 1350 hrs (based on 12hrs a day). Some might argue that given they sleep around 1m from me, I could probably bump that time up! In the same time, in a normal 16 week period of work, assuming I retained the standard 2.5hrs per workday on average I saw the kids and same 12hrs a day on the weekends, I would have seen them a total of 584hrs. So lets round that up to 590hr just to be nice...

1350hrs vs. 590hrs.... I've been involved in 760hrs more of their lives (and them mine) than I would have done 'normally'. Converting back to days, that's already 63 more days I've managed to spend with them.

Now, there's no denying that this increase in parental contact time has taken a while to adjust to, from both sides. And it's certainly more concentrated I'm sure when you spend this time in a 20ft long box on wheels.

"Go to your room Sam! Oh... hang on... um.... go outside... nope... can still hear you... um... go... ah jus go!"

We are always on each others toes, metaphorically and actually, and sometimes the proximity can get a bit too much. Often I'll find myself getting frustrated at little things that shouldn't really matter too much.

But seriously, is it that hard to put your shoes in the freakin' shoe box??

On the flipside though I think I've relaxed a bit more about other things. My usual PIA manner for bed times has wained considerably of late and I think the kids have enjoyed that. And whilst we know when we've let them stay up too late (and pay the price the next day with grumpiness) I think we all understand that there is no 'normal day'. Dinners are at different times and places and often with different people. There is no way to standardise it, no matter how much I might have tried in the earlier days.

And I now have a new found love of reading the kids the 'family book' at the end of the day when the oppurtunity arises. It reminded me of how I used to read to each of the kids at home when they were little and how much I enjoyed it, and yet, did it less frequently as they got older and learned to read themselves. So now, when the evenings allow it, when we haven't done much or everyone is heading to bed at similar times, I really do love plonking between the bunks, James handing me Carrot the Parrot (his pet pillow) to lean on and we escape into a fictional world. Right now, and I suspect for most of the trip, it will be the world of Harry Potter.

I'm just wondering how long it will be until my impersonation of Gilderoy Lockhart will remain funny.

So... yep, I have greatly appreciated the extra time with the kids.

DISTANCE:

The trip computer on the car ticked over 15,000km on the drive today. That's not bad going if I do say so myself... And whilst I won't get to stat heavy on this post, as I'd rather save that for when I have access to the "Master Spreadsheet" on grid, let's just think about that for a moment Matt.

That's a long, long way. We're not in Kansas anymore Toto...

It's also strange as other than a few days early on, I don't feel as though we've gone that far... But once again, perspective comes into it. Today is a great example of that... We drove 390km today, without too much of a fuss or a protest. It was, dare I say it, 'normal'. So I suppose what would have normally in the past quite the trip, is something we now just accept. Time in the car is... normal.

Bu there's no denying, it's a massive country... The jury is still out if we'll get around it in time...

And for my last ponder for the evening...

SAND OR DUST:

I can't decide which one pisses me off more when it's in the car. I think I've relaxed my approach to the cleanliness of the car, accepting that the back seat will often look more like a transfer station than a vehicle. The outside is even more of a write-off. Scratches, dust, smear marks, door handles covered in sun cream which are then covered in red, white, bone, ivory, cream, beige, off-white or brown dust making it look like a crime scene full of finger prints.

But surely it's all just a sign of us really enjoying the adventure to the full?