WOTY 2023 banner
Posted on by Debbie

Exploring the other side of the world in May #WBOYC

Exploring during May

I’ve had lots of fun exploring so far during May! I’m now on the other side of the world to where I was a few weeks ago (where I usually live) and am enjoying the various changes.

Some of these include:

  • Helping with our 3.5yr old granddaughter Dottie – this has meant lots of walking backwards and forwards from home to daycare and looking after her for periods of time. It’s a far more active day in some ways than what I’m used to and as we don’t have a car we’re either on foot or on the bikes. It’s a lot of fun exploring activities to help keep her entertained I must say.
  • The weather – it’s been absolutely delightful so far, sunny and warm (compared to the cold temps back at home). The spring greens and blossoms here make me smile and make all the walking and cycling a joy to explore 🙂
  • Eating out – we’ve been eating with our daughter and her family, which makes a nice change! Also we’ve just had friends visit from Scotland so we’ve been eating and drinking with them, exploring the various local pubs and restaurants.
  • Light at the end of the day – it’s so nice to have daylight into the evening hours. It’s sometimes the little things isn’t it? But for the first few days jet lag had us asleep by 8pm so we didn’t make use of the extra hours of light!

The darling buds of May.

William Shakespeare Sonnet 18

Exploring with Friends

Mary and Forbes are friends we met back in 1992 when we were on a year-long Teacher Exchange. We’d gone to France for the summer holidays, with borrowed everything, for a camping holiday and our three girls befriended their three girls. They were from Scotland and offered us a place to stay should we ever make it up their way. Of course we took them up on their offer later in the year and we’ve been friends ever since. Over the years on many of our trips to this side of the world we meet up and this year they came down to Cheddar to explore this area for a few days.

Avalon marshes
Avalon marshes

We acted as tour guides and took them to explore the Avalon Marshes, Wookey Hole Caves, local pubs including tasting local gins, and a day out in Bath. They’d never been to Bath before so we had a great day showing them just a few of the sights, they’re keen to return as they loved it!

Forbes and Mary in Bath
Forbes and Mary in Bath

Exploring my feelings

Our eldest daughter turned 40 this week and I’m in a bit of a quandary as to how I feel about this. On one hand I’m thrilled for her, she’s 40 and Fabulous and living her best life. On the other hand I can remember turning 40 myself and it doesn’t feel that long ago. I can also clearly remember the details of her birth and that definitely doesn’t seem like 40 years! I know a lot has happened in that time but still…40 years??

This was one of the main reasons we came to England and it’s lovely being here to help celebrate. Melanie organised an Aussie themed party for friends and family which was a lot of fun and then for her actual birthday, a few days later, we had a small family dinner at a local pub.

Grant at Melanie's 40th party
Grant at Melanie’s 40th party – he was the quintessential Aussie

Dottie was very excited with all the birthday celebrations and made it extra fun watching her reactions. She had a quiet day on her own for her birthday despite our offer of taking her out for the day. As a working mother with a 3.5yr old, a quiet day on her own, with Dottie at preschool, was too tempting to give up. We went to Bath with our friends and left her to enjoy some peace and quiet.

After a great day of wandering the sights in Bath we stopped for a refreshing drink and Mary took this lovely photo of me, a happy mother with a daughter who’d just turned 40 🙂

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old
Debbie – mother of a 40 year old – cheers

So in summary I’m happy and proud of our firstborn baby girl, she’s been loved through all the stages of life – baby, teen, young adult, grown up, and now a mother – but she’s always our beautiful daughter first and foremost. Such a joy to be over here to share in the celebrations.

Melanie and Dottie May 2023
Melanie and Dottie May 2023

My Word of the Year for 2023 is EXPLORE

Exploring means taking advantage of all the opportunities that come my way and embracing the unexpected moments. It means being open to new experiences and not being afraid to step out of my comfort zone. And through it all, I hope to deepen my appreciation for the beauty of life and everything it has to offer.

Explore can relate to creativity, food, ideas, travel, books, music, exercise, relationships, fun, fashion – it’s a word that exudes adventure and curiosity – and I love these words! I’m definitely exploring my options this year.

What’s Been on Your Calendar plus Word of the Year

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s all about exploring for me this year, so what better way to recap my month than in this monthly linkup with friends – Jo, Donna and Sue – where we look at what’s been on our calendars (#WBOYC), what we’ve been doing, how our word of the year (#WOTY) is going, if we have one, and what’s new. And the good news is you’re welcome to share what you’ve been up to with us as well 🙂

This monthly linkup is hosted by Donna from Retirement Reflections, Jo from And Anyways…, Sue from Women Living Well After 50 and me, Deb from Deb’s World (Aus).

Away travelling

Just letting you know I’ll be in and out of the blogosphere over the next little bit 🙂 You can read more here Travel Anticipation, Ready for Travel and My Amazing Love Actually Moment, Taking you down the Wookey Hole – I’m trying to stay in touch but I’m also reminding myself that I am on holidays.

So there you have it, May is (almost) done and dusted! Just a few of my explorations during the month.

I’m keen to know what you’ve been up to.

Happy Days 🙂

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js…
WBOYC co-host

Deb xx

Latest Posts:

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Everyone has a story to tell! Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. She never imagined being Granny Debs would bring so much joy to her life! You can read more of Deb’s story here

Copyright © 2022 debs-world.com – All rights reserved

43 Replies to “Exploring the other side of the world in May #WBOYC”

  2. HI Deb such a joyful post and it is so lovely for you to spend time with Dottie. I hear you re children turning 40. My daughter is now 42 and my son will be 41 in November – how can that be when I only feel 40 LOL 🙂 Great that you could catch up with your friends and so wonderful that you have maintained the long distance friendship for many years. Enjoy and appreciate every moment as the time will fly. P.S. It is lovely walking to and from school with the grandchildren isn’t it? I know I have some great conversations with Ethan and Elliot. xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Wow. 40. I have two 20-somethings and that’s pretty weird. I often wonder how I got to be this old. Glad I did tho. There is this tunnel all lit up in london. You should take Dottie. Will try to find what it’s called. (Like VIVID). Also follow MuseumMum – she has really great things to do in the UK with kids.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Hi, Debbie – That is an especially beautiful photo of you toasting to your daughter on her 40th birthday. The photo of Melanie and Dottie is also lovely. Happy birthday again to Melanie. Wishing you all much joy in your remaining time together. It is such a special time!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Many thanks Donna, you are too kind! We’re really enjoying our time and making sure we rest up in between our busy days. My step count has been high every ay since we’ve been here!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Sounds like a great start to your UK hol. 40 years does seem like a long time ago – I went to a 40th anniversary reunion of the radio station where I worked as my second job. It seems like just yesterday!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Hi Deb – that photo of you is a great one – I can see why you used it as a profile pic. It sums up your life atm – sunny, smiley, relaxed and grateful. So glad you’re enjoying the time with Melanie and her family and that you got to spend some quality time with friends too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. What a lovely post! You’re certainly making the most of every precious minute of your trip.
    It is hard to believe that our ‘children’ are all grown up isn’t it? Lovely to know that they are happy and settled.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. You’re certainly doing justice to your word of the year Deb. The Aussie party looks like it was lots of fun. I remember feeling a bit ‘off’ when m eldest turned 40. It was such a shock. He’s now almost 50! Trying not to think about that yet.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Happy birthday to your daughter; I love that you offered to let her have a whole day to herself too but really celebrated with a fun party on a different date. When I had young kids I often told my husband just take the boys and let me have a few hours to myself; that’s all I want. LOL.

    Like

    Reply

  14. Your daughter didn’t fall far from your tree! She looks so much like you. Glad that you are having a fabulous May!! Enjoy and not to worry. We will be here when you get back from sporadic blogging !

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Isn’t it so crazy when our children reach milestones we so clearly remember hitting ourselves? I am happy for you that you got to celebrate with your daughter for her 40th birthday.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. That long haul journey was certainly worth it to for you to experience all these great times. This trip will give you lots to look back on – fodder to explore your memories and emotions – being in the moment and enjoying a different kind of family life….. day to day things like taking Dottie to kinder….

    Thanks for sharing – enjoy the weeks to come…..(oh, and wait until you have children entering their 60s….there are lots of mixed emotions to deal with when that happens. Don’t ask me how I know 😊😊)
    Take care
    Cathy

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I’m glad there’s a cross over with your Aussi NT card. So many brilliant places to explore near you. If you’ve not put it in your diary, do try and get to Weston for the sand sculptures. I think they’re on in mid to late June. We loved them when we went a while back.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  19. You must have had your daughter very young, you look like sisters.
    Daylight saving in the UK is wonderful and I wish they would bring it back to WA. Those twilight evenings that go on forever is one thing I miss. Enjoy the rest of your stay 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Oh Ali, you are sweet! I wasn’t that young at 22 but compared to these days I probably was. The long evenings are delightful and no mozzies to contend withe either! Thank you for the lovely compliment.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. My son will turn 25 this summer, and I can’t quite wrap my head around it. 25 years sounds like a long time, but it’s gone crazy fast. Glad you were able to celebrate with your daughter and give her the best gift a mom with young kids can get – a day to herself.

    I hope you continue to enjoy your holidays!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes when our children start getting up in numbers it’s a weird feeling Janet! Time just flies by. I’m loving our time away with family and the great weather has been a bonus!

      Like

      Reply

  21. That’s a beautiful photo of you, Deb. So glad to hear about your joyful time with family and friends. Happy belated birthday to Melanie! It is a special time for you all. Thank you for hosting #WBOYC and linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare. Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Many thanks for the comment on my photo Natalie, it’s a very relaxed and happy me 🙂 It’s great to be over here sharing some fun times with my daughter and granddaughter.

      Like

      Reply

  22. Two of my three children are in their 40s! Like you, I’m not quite sure how that happened! My youngest will be 40 next January. They are all happy, like their jobs, and live close. I don’t know what I would do if one of them lived half a world away! I would definitely rack up the airmiles!

    I do hope you continue to enjoy this wonderful time with your daughter and her family as well as your friends from Scotland. I love Bath and hope to make it there this fall. Thanks for the link up!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Marsha, it’s a funny feeling but I’m getting used to having a 40 year old! We don’t live near any of three daughters so travel is always involved, the closest one is a 3 hour drive away! I hope you get to visit Bath, it’s very special!

      Like

      Reply
  25. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #338 – Thistles and Kiwis

Let's keep the conversation going...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog at WordPress.com.
%d bloggers like this: