June was cold! Winter had fully set in and it was freezing some days. Or possibly, my older bones creak in winter.
The cold though didn’t deter my social life. In fact, to ensure that the cool weather has no impact, I ventured out more than I usually do.
My month started with watching the new Mission Impossible with my son. Our family love all the movies but my husband does not like watching them on big screens any more. So it was a date night with my 16 year old and we had fun. My understanding is that it is the last one with Tom Cruise, so it really is an end of an era.
The long weekend was spent with my wonderful girlfriends in the Megalong Valley in the beautiful Blue Mountains. My friend Kala had arranged for a house and over bonfires and lonely walks, we filled our souls. It has been scientifically proven that women need their girlfriends to thrive and I am blessed to have mine. We have been friends for over 10 years now and our bond has only grown stronger. I know I can turn to them for anything and they will listen to me with no judgement.
We had the fundraiser for cancer council by Saree Club. This is an annual affair and each year we bring an expert to enhance our knowledge about the disease. This year we learnt from a lady who works at cancer council around resources available to investigate and learn more about this dreaded disease and tips for self care to avoid. It was a somber but good afternoon listening to lived experiences and eating meals cooked by ladies. It was great to catch up with some who I hadn’t met for some time.
I attended a few cultural event in June – the first one was a play called “Let’s have Sex” which starred my bestie. I grew up surrounded with artistes, plays, poets and theatre. I am loving how the theatre scene is coming up in Sydney. The play was excellent and a very unique script. A mix of young and old actors kept us engaged. It was a great night.
The very next day I attended the Signature Choir with Sydney Symphony. We had pre choir dinner at Hacienda, a wonderful restaurant overlooking the harbour bridge before sitting down at the opera house for music. It was a night of pure joy! The choir was wonderful, the music sublime but it was the audience who took the cake. The Pacific Islanders are some of the most proud and happy people on earth and it was evident that night. Their happiness transcended to all and me, along with my friends Dawn and Maria, loved everything about the night.
The month ended catching up for dinner with friends. As we were meeting after some time, we had a lot to catch up. These are enduring friendships – we pick up from where we leave even when we are meeting after months.
My husband and I started a new ritual this month. Every Sunday, we go on a date drive. We pick a place to go for brunch or coffee and we take off. It is great to get away from home, just the two of us and talking about something else other than running out home. As our son is getting older and our responsibilities around him are waning, we are learning to communicate with each other differently and rediscovering our relationship, different to what it was when we got married 25 years ago. My husband is my best friend and we are growing together in every way.
Here is a snapshot of June.