Life Is Full of Better and Worse. :)

Nearly a month later than my last post and only a week to Christmas - time sure does fly whether one is having fun or not. This week has full of dramas, anxiety and yet, as a friend going through a hard time wrote to me, "God is so good to us." As I woke up this morning, I thought, "Yay! Saturday! The week is almost over." I haven't thought that way in a long time. The week has been full of worldly tragedies - a hostage situation in Sydney Australia, over 100 children killed at a school in the Taliban and a mother stabbing her 7 children and a niece in north Queensland. Horror stories of people who kill innocent victims. Then we deal with our own issues and challenges in life and remember only vaguely, that we have a lot to be thankful for. 

Earlier this week, I woke up and Andy was watching me with a smile on his face and I thought how sweet, even romantic. When I mentioned it to him that he looked happy, he commented that he enjoys playing tennis which was where he was going. I told him that killed the romantic thought I was having and he added, "But you did look cute while you were sleeping." He has taken such good care of me while I've been injured. When I get frustrated about my lack of energy and ability to do what I usually could do, he reminds me that it's been a challenging year and that my fall hasn't helped things. He reassures me that I can only take small steps and not expect to be 100% in a short space of time. 

Last week, he went camping for the first time with me even though he didn't expect to enjoy it. He met people from around the world and was in his element chatting with them about their country's sport. The first full day we were there, we went for a walk along the beach, he went running on sand dunes and we both went body boarding in the surf. I was excited that the first wave I caught, I rode into shore - it was the best wave I had ever caught. After a couple more waves, I went and sat on the shore to rest and watched Andy catch a few waves, then talk to a couple from England. After dinner that night, we talked with a couple who had a camping trailer and they loaned us some sand pegs to keep our tent more secure in the strong winds however, that didn't help when the thunderstorms and heavy downpour went on all night. The next morning, we watched the other couple pack up, then we decided to pack up in the rain too. There was no sense hanging around in the tent for the next couple of days. We loved the place and hope to go back there some other time. In our tent. Andy says he hates camping but he keeps saying, "We need to get.. for when we go camping... next time." It was good to put the camping stuff away today.

Anyway, this week took a downhill slide when I received an 'excess' water bill from the property manger (pm) which was for almost $2,000 and said that we use up to 3,000 litres a day. I emailed the pm and she said that she can not find a record of a leaking tap so therefore we had to pay it. She had told Andy just before my fall that the water bill was not a leaking tap and must be a broken pipe and that she would have it investigated but she didn't do that. I called the RTA (a tenancy authority) and they scoffed at her comments and said it is obviously a broken pipe and that we should not pay it as it's the landlord's responsibility to have maintenance done on the property, not ours. They told me to email the pm and let her know we wouldn't be paying and that we had spoken to them. Also, while I was on the phone to them, I made sure the water was all off and checked the meter which was still ticking over as though there was water being used.

Later on, I was talking with a friend who is also a pm for another company and she encouraged me to contact the owners/landlord in case the lazy pm hadn't done so. I couldn't find the phone number so went to her place of work and she was off sick. I left a message with her and she called today when we were unable to answer the phone and her comment was it was the first she heard of it. She is not going to be happy when she finds out about the bill and that the pm hadn't notified her as soon as she could.

Last night we were watching TV when a car drove up our bumpy driveway and there was a loud knock on our door. Andy went to the door and called out "Who's there?" but no one was there. Before he opened the door, I heard giggling and the car drove off. It was a bunch of kids probably but it was still a little bit scary. We often keep the front door open as we don't have a screen door and we need to let air in but now Andy is willing to shut and lock the front door.

This morning at about 7:30am, I heard the back gate open and close and I stood up on the bed/pillow to look outside the window that was high up. I saw the neighbour's son and another boy go back and sit down at their patio table and chairs. He came over later and explained to Andy that Milly had tried getting out so they'd put some bricks near the fence. Of course Milly tried getting out - there were guys there and she wanted some attention. When people walk past our side fence with their dogs, she barks and runs to the fence and they pat her and tell her she's gorgeous. When that car came last night, there was no barking from Milly. She's not a guard dog.

Andy and I are looking for ways of saving and I changed my phone plan to a prepaid account which is $20 less per month. When I checked after making a payment, it said I only had $5 credit. As we drove off to our friends' place for lunch I had a minor melt-down. I said to Andy that it doesn't seem fair that even when I do the right thing, it goes wrong and that even when I make an extra effort to get ahead, it doesn't work. It's not fair! While we were at our friends' place, we called the phone company and the text message was badly worded which means that $5 credit is if I want to call overseas for 4c per minute. Whew!

We had a lovely time at our friends' place, chatting, eating chocolate, putting things in order as J and I both "have a little bit of Monk in us" as Dave would say. I put all the chocolates (box of Favourites) in alphabetical order and J ate the one that looked out of place. When we came home, I turned on a Christmas CD and wrapped up Andy's Christmas presents and put them away again. We don't have the tree up yet. Hopefully that will be put up tomorrow. The Christmas CD is still playing as I write this. 

Yes, it's been a challenging year but at the same time, there is a lot to be thankful for and the blessings far outweigh the trials. I'm alive. I am loved. I have all that I need and more besides. It sounds like a cliche and yet is is spoken from my heart. A friend put this on my FB page and as I thought it so appropriate, I'm sharing it with you, too.