Day 5 - mornington peninsula

Had a wonderful day yesterday catching up with friends in Sorrento and Blairgowrie. Lunch and drinks at the Conti was nice and allowed me to see and chat with people I haven't seen in a few years. One of them had gone on to have a 3rd baby and I'd mistakenly thought it was the same baby we'd seen before we left. Good god, stupid.

Anyway, best friend F turns up late but orders wine for the two of us and all is well. I do feel a little out of place, because these ladies seem to live their lives together, doing the same social things with kids and husbands. I'm not surprised to see myself feeling a little bit envious, because I'm thinking to myself, I could have been a part of all this... this could have been my life too. However, I know enough about life to also know that the grass is not always greener on the other side and that even though this little social get together is very pleasant, it is not the total sum of their lives and that they too would have their own problems. They do, however, live in one of the most beautiful places in Australia and I definitely envy that.

After lunch, it was back to a friends place for a cup of tea and a chat. Our daughters were amazing, picking up where they left off 4 years ago when they were just 4 years old. My daughter was confident, smiley and very social - quite different to how she is in Malaysia and we left with her voicing her thoughts to me in a little secret whisper to my ear "Mummy, I feel better here because I can understand everyone". I do think she would love to go to school here, but I didn't say that. I said something diplomatic like, well in malaysia, at least we get to learn chinese.

Dinner time came around and we met F and P and their daughter at the park. Again the girls seemed to just pick up where they left off 4 years ago. It's amazing to watch them all grow into beautiful young girls able to swap stories of school life and other things. Now, these people are the barbecue champions. Their sausages and chops always taste great - maybe it't the wine that always seems to be flowing but sitting there, watching the sunset change the sky from pink to dark purple, chatting and laughing made for a memorable night.

After that, the kids and I moved on to meander round the local shopping mall and we saw something we don't see in Malaysia - an almost empty shopping centre. In Malaysia, the shops are always full - really full, so to see this one almost empty was very strange indeed.

Arrived home at about 10.30, camera full of memories and happily tired from such a big day.
Must do it again when we're home next. :)