I was awoken with the
alarm ringing. I rolled over and
pressed the snooze button but not before looking at the readout. That can’t be right, I thought, rubbing
my eyes and taking a second look at the clock. It only says 3 am.
Then the memory
started to stir. That’s
right. Today my daughter and I were
going to Sydney for a shopping day.
Now, I know that this is exciting but there was a small part of my brain
that was actually a bit scared.
I’ve been shopping with her before and let me tell you I have been
walking everyday in order to build up my fitness for this trip. When she sees a shop she’s like the
Energiser bunny – she never stops!
No, she doesn’t actually spend that much money, in fact I would like to
congratulate her on her restraint, but we had to do Sydney in less than 8
hours. HAVE YOU EVER SHOPPED IN
SYDNEY!!!!! 8 HOURS!!
Well, never say I back
down to a challenge.
I navigated my little
car down the Bruce Highway at 4 am this morning, caught the shuttle bus from
the parking to the airport and checked in right on time. In fact, I think we were early. Thankfully, a lot of the shops at the
airport were closed at that time in the morning so my poor feet got to have a
bit more of a rest before their marathon.
Time to board. And it was great. I’d forgotten what it’s like to
fly. And seeing the excitement on
her face as today was her first flight, made it even more special. Feeling the exhilaration on takeoff
followed by the hour or so of looking out of the window, thankfully our decent
into Sydney was uneventful and a smooth landing was thrown in to make our
morning even better.
Now this is the part
where I brag that not only did we do our shopping but we also got in some sight
seeing and Tayla got her 15
minutes (ok, it was more like 1 minute) of fame when Sydney Tourism stopped her
and asked her to answer some questions on camera. Wow, could this day get any better? Well actually yes. We made a few new friends. Ok, some of them were not invited but
hey, friends are friends, right? I
was a bit scared for the poor man that decided I was his expert on Sydney
transport and followed my lead getting back to the airport. I figured, if I was the expert, this
man was in serious trouble. Then
there was the oh so lovely lady in the jewellery shop, that thought Tayla and I
were sisters and when she found out I was Mum, she announced that I must have
had her very young (stop laughing!).
Alright, I know that she was a sales woman, and a very good one at that
but this 43 year old takes it were I can.
We were both quite
vocal in our desire to buy the Ugg slippers and wear them on the plane home but
we showed restraint. Even though
the blister the size of Queensland on Tayla’s big toe would have rejoiced in
being encased in the deliciously soft fur, we did remember that even though
nobody knew us in Sydney – we had to walk off the plane in Brisbane. Thankfully, we chose to walk away empty
handed from that store as the lady sitting next to me on the plane home turned
out to be the property manager for the business my husbands employer rents. Yes, I know – small world. So we sucked it up and limped in
silence (well, ok, Tayla limped in silence – I may have been a little vocal
about it) back to the shuttle bus that reunited us with my little car and then
made the journey home where I was greeted by a lovely hot shower and my warm
comfy bed.
And I’d like to finish
up by thanking my beautiful daughter for an absolutely wonderful day. And I recommend anyone wishing to lose
some weight – take Tayla shopping.
You’ll lose heaps J
