Le Weekend

Weekend was lovely. St Hilda's fete - girls played up a storm on the rides. Cas did rock climbing, the twins went on the cobra (SCARY!), Granny spoilt them and Tone & I visited the Champagne & Oyster Bar!

Tara wore her brand new pink & silver runners/takkies (from Queensland Events). And WOW - they made her wanna fly - so "light and bouncy" she said (great ad for asics!). Like magic shoes. We went to Aus Fair and she SPRINTED up and down the aisles. And when we got home she dragged Tony out to run fast around the block. Her little lungs were aching - in that fab healthy way - another first for her! And it was such great timing to then watch the Paralympic girls on 60 Minutes - really inspiring for Tara - that dream of one day being able to represent Australia. Now she wants to be "an artist and a paralympian".

Also had a sporty morning yesterday (Sunday) with the Patons - playing mini-Olympics on the beach....including a hopping race. This all probably sounds so bland - but such a breakthrough for Tara who used to have to be a spectactor instead of a very excited participant! Very inspiring. It was cute tho' when we were walking to the beach - LouLou kept coming undone and she said "how do you think you would like it if your leg kept falling off and nobody would stop for you to put it back on" (said like it's the most normal thing).

So we can't wait for the 15th - to start the process of getting her next James Bond-ish leg that'll be a lot more secure and she can run without worrying it'll disappear from beneath her!

Biggest difference so far since Tara's amputation is the absolute FREEDOM the rest of us now have to enjoy ourselves around Tara. Before, her leg was so fragile that you were too scared to bump her and hurt her (or have her killer brace hurt you) - whereas now she can wrestle with Tone like a pitbull & LOVES it - and there's no worries that her leg's gonna get hurt! YAY!

Oh dear. I forgot to publish this post - so it's now a whole week later. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAM CAM! And SPEEDY SPEEDY RECOVERY beautiful Gela! And big thoughts to Paul and my dad this last week. The girls wrote Paul the loveliest notes on full moon night & we went out for the most divine ice-creams (coz there aren't any crepes in Tedder Ave).

The 15th went fab! Rehab all happy with Tara's progress and we can now move on to the next leg. We also don't have to bandage her stump every night anymore - but after over 6 months of whingeing about it, can you believe we're now a little heartsore to let go of the tradition?! Tara even let Tony do it this week for the first time ever.

Great news - Jadie's been elected Form Captain for next term! She's soooo excited. All 3 got Effort 1 ratings for all their subjects this term - they really, really worked hard so they felt so good & said it was their best term ever. Cas got a certificate for her Shakespeare speech and although the twins didn't make it into the finals, Tara says that "Shakespeare is my FAVOURITE language!"

Queensland Health and St Hilda's have continued being amazing - they arranged to walk around the school with Tara to check on the level of safety (and all 3 girls - who are blind to the fact that Tara's in any way disadvantaged - asked why Tara specifically had been chosen to do this and not one of them!).

A HUGE thank you to Ginette, Hugh, Lucy and Jessica - WOW guys! We were blown away. Like we've said before to every kind soul who has taken part in Tara's journey - it's not just what you've physically now given Tara, but how much your care and generosity of spirit has been such a support to the whole family and helped fill up that reservoir of love that Tara will draw on for the rest of her life.

HOLIDAYS now...so we can sleep in for the next couple of weeks! Yay! Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Rainforests, Man Flu & a Hot Mag!

Yikes - there's been quite a bit going on - mainly all 3 girls being sick, sick, sick - but also some exciting stuff! We had a gorgeous picnic with the cousins a couple of Sundays ago up at Mount Tamborine (just near here) with a divine walk in the rainforest afterwards. Seriously - if Tara can handle that walk - which is filled with potholes, stones and rugged rocks - she can handle anything! And she did! She was one of the fastest - racing ahead and leaving us adults in the dust. I think it's just so exciting for her to be able to explore with the other kids instead of always being the one lagging behind saying "please wait for me".

When we got home Jadie had a TINY reddish dot on her face - which we presumed was from the walk and that a branch had nicked her. Then she was sick for the next few days - but since Tara and Cassie were too - we didn't think much of it EXCEPT that the dot on her face was growing bigger and bigger! By Thursday it had sort of ballooned from the size of a dot to the size of a jellytot - so we went to the doctor - and turned out it was a tick that had got its jaws into her and was sucking all her blood out! Argh!

Poor Cas was sick as a dog on her birthday - couldn't even talk till the evening. BUT we made up for it with a delayed birthday party this last weekend - taking 17 of her closest friends to movies and sushi. (Scary!) On the sick front - Tone thought he was having a mild heart attack two nights ago and rushed himself to the emergency doctor - but turns out he too is getting the flu. (And is just a typical guy with Man Flu!)

Had a great couple of days down in New South Wales with Gav and family at an old beach house in Evan's Head. Tara was so sweet. We were at the skateboarding park and she wanted to eat a chocolate she'd been saving - but I said she had to give everyone else a little bite first. So everyone took a nibble, except Alec who ate the whole thing. So I said to Tara "are you okay?" and she said "yes, at first it was hard because my face went into the wrong position so I had to move it around to not show that I was a bit upset".

Apart from her few days sick in bed (and reading NON-stop to us coz she can't bear to be alone), Tara's been having a fantastic time with LouLou. I just can't express enough what freedom she now has. Like tonight she was excitedly telling us all about the stuff she did in HPE today - which she never used to be able to do before. She was also in the finals of a talent concert (singing Maybe from Annie with her friend Eva), and did a project on an Aboriginal artist Ginger Riley which seems to have reignited her passion for art - she's been consumed by her art pad, sketching all kinds of scenes.

Tone and I are doing well (apart from his forthcoming flu of course) - had a fab time with friends up from Melbourne last weekend; dinner and movies (actually take-away dinner smuggled into the movies) with Alex & Stuart last night & a big luncheon thing with some school folk that started at midday and ended after 10pm! Love those.

And Tara, Cas and Jadie added a limo-ride (for a friends' birthday at the Outback Show) to their list of 'firsts'.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has poured love and attention into Jadie - amazing results. An A in presenting her project which she had thought she'd never be able to do & deciding to enter a Shakespeare speech contest that she normally would've run from! And huge thanks to Anita who's going to dedicate her next book to Jadie! It's so beautiful to see Jadie believing in herself again. And she's stretching herself again - instead of giving up without trying.

We had a visit with Dr Pincus on Tuesday - and he's VERY happy with Tara's progress!!!! We don't have to see him again for 6 months. And they've slotted us in to see the rehab people on the 15th - which is when we'll be able to get the ball rolling for Tara to get better legs! (It's also Paul's birthday...)

And the last bit of exciting news - a national magazine is doing a piece on Tara and her role as Junior Ambassador for the Gold Coast Marathon! I don't wanna say the mag's name till it comes out - will keep you posted. Journalist was divine - sooooo interesting - he used to work in Fleet Street (London) in the late '60s when it was at its best! He and a lovely photographer came around on Monday and took photos of all 3 girls - HUGEST fun for them!

Paralympics starts tomorrow! Tone and I went to the Paralympic Games back in 2000 in Sydney - just three months after the twins were born - when we were so worried, and had no idea what the future would hold for Tara (and us) except that we were "in for the long haul" (doc's words). So it's really exciting to be at a place now where we know that if she really, really wanted - it's a dream she could make happen for herself. Zigs told us about George Eyser - an American gymnast who won gold at the 1904 Olympic Games - with a wooden leg! How's that for not letting small things get in the way of your dreams?!

St Hilda's Fete tomorrow and Father's Day on Sunday. And if you're in Australia, try watch 60 Minutes on Sunday to see one of the Aussie girls who's gonna be at the Paralympics (thanks Ginette). Happy Weekend Everyone! And Filipa - that is FANTASTIC news in your last comment!!!!!! (A couple of extra Premier Anna Bligh pics included today that we didn't have last time.)