I've got to say, right now I'm really, really thankful for resting places. Because rest is a thing none of us ever get enough of, so when I do get the chance to rest my rear end in any place at all I feel grateful. So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to my top ten rear end resting locations ...
1. This fabulously funky and incredibly comfortable chair at our local library. On our fortnightly visits, Ben and I choose our books then he flops onto a beanbag and I arrange myself on this marvellous piece of furniture to read. If the chair happens to be occupied by another patron, I glare them down until they move.
2. Just outside the library, there is a Japanese garden. On fine days, we sometimes sit here and read for a few minutes before heading home. Afterwards, I always feel like I've been on a little holiday (clearly it's been a while since I've been on a real one!)
3. Depending of the weather, after I've done the food shopping I often like to park the car at the Busselton Jetty, which is literally about a minute's drive from the supermarket, and sit for a little while with my baby girl on the blue bench you can see here to the right of the lamppost. We never stay for very long (I wouldn't want the ice-cream to melt in the car now would I?) but those couple of minutes between the supermarket and the drive home just help me to collect my thoughts and relax.
Here is my view from the bench. The Busselton Jetty is 1.8km (a bit longer than a mile) long and is the longest jetty in the southern Hemisphere.
4. The bench outside Ben's classroom. If I arrive a little bit before pick-up time in the afternoon, I have a couple of minutes to sit on this spot on the bench while I'm waiting for him. I love listening to the children singing goodbye (yes, singing :) to their teacher and I always feel better if I have that 'bench time' rather than arriving after the siren has gone and the kids have already streamed out onto the verandahs.
5. This is my other favourite resting place at Ben's school. Sometimes in the afternoons the mum of one of his friends stays behind to help with school craft projects and Ben asks if he can stay and play with his friend for a while. I sit with my baby girl on this bench that looks over the oval and watch them play from a distance. I feel like I'm keeping an eye on them without intruding on their play and it's beautiful to see how these little men joke and muck around together.
6. The bench at my beach. From walking out my front door to dipping my toes in the ocean is a 90 second walk. I like to go for a little stroll up to this bench and then back again. It takes about ten minutes each way. I always stop and sit on the bench for a few minutes before heading back. Watching and listening to the ocean has always been a form of meditation for me.
Here is my view from the bench: a thousand acres of sky.
7. My {no-longer} rocking chair. When I was pregnant with Ben in 2004 and living in Darwin, his dad found this rocking chair at a garage sale. He spray painted it white and it became my breastfeeding chair. In its travels back and forth between removal trucks and storage units it somehow lost its rockers, but its still a wonderfully comfy chair and on fine days, I like to put it in a shady spot in the garden. When Annalisa is getting restless, she always calms down when I take her outside. The fresh air and all the shades of green have a soothing effect on both mummy and bubby.
8. This swing at our local park that I call the Spider Web. Now that the weather's fine, I sometimes take both kids to the park and while Ben runs off and makes friends with anyone and everyone, I like to rock back and forth on the Spider Web with Annalisa.
9. Our hammock. Actually, all four of us love it, so we have to take it in turns!
10. And last, but definitely not least, is the best seat in the house, the one my Grandfather used to affectionately refer to as The Throne. I take no responsibility for the decor surrounding The Throne. I know it's hideous and even in sepia it's still as ugly as all get out. The moments I actually get to rest on The Throne with the door closed and no-one interrupting to ask what's for dinner or to recount a story that cannot possibly wait two minutes to be told are as rare as hens' teeth, but when they do arise they are completely, utterly and indescribably blissful.
So how about you? Do you have a favourite resting place? And what are you thankful for right now?
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