The Last Man Standing.
Trip Start
Sep 16, 2011
1
118
290
Trip End
Nov 20, 2011
Southport, Queensland, Australia
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Once we drop Noah off, we head back along the Gold Coast Highway to Kelli's parents. We have arranged to pop over for a swim and a walk and Woody is super excited about this. Super excited.
He also starts talking about how he does not want to go to preschool anymore. He just cannot get around rest time. He hates it. The funny thing is; he needs the rest time as the humidity is wearing him out, and secondly, he pretty much always falls asleep. In the end I say I will speak to the teacher but I try and distract him from worrying about it today.
So we arrive and Kelli’s parents. Elwood sees Dan, Dan starts with the crazy Lion King speak, and Woody is over excited. He is out of his tree. As a matter of fact, he breaks a tree in the back garden. He cannot seem to calm himself down. Dan runs around the garden like a monkey with Woody close behind - enabling me to eat some fruit salad and to inhale some coffee. Woody does not want to let Dan and Kelli out his sight / grasp. We decide to skip the walk, and I think life might be easier if Woody is contained within a swimming pool.
Turns out this works. Woody has a ball swimming and playing ball. We brought his goggles, and he really enjoyed looking around under the water. All fine. And then it is time to get out. All not fine. Woody is trying to run away and throw himself back in the pool. I have no tolerance for shenanigans by the pool so I man handle him back to the house. Woody runs around like a maniac refusing to be dried and get dressed. So he gets plonked in the car in his wet swimmers. I suspect this not entirely comfortable for Woody, and I am pleased about this.
Back home, Woody reverts to being super lovely kid. He has a bath, a play, some lunch, I talk to Noah, and we read lots of books – the usual suspects. He lies down easily for a rest, but he is refusing to sleep. He is clearly exhausted but is steadfastly denying this – as 3 years old do. So he lies down for an hour and does not sleep.
I get on with cooking pizza bases and toppings and listen to my new audio book, Barack Obama’s – Dreams of My Father, a lovely way to spend an hour.
Woody gets up looking more tired than he did when he lied down, if that is possible. He watches some TV whilst I finished off cooking and tidying up. We then head down the road for a bike ride which, as it turns out, is a very bad idea. It is very hot and humid still, and Woody is very tired, and the combinations of these things result in Woody having no patience whatsoever. He is generally erratic and disagreeable and I do my very best not to behave like a 3 year old myself. I manage it, just....
We go and collect Noah from work and he fills us in on his day. His morning is spent working his silly drawings into something presentable and he holds his breath for the verdict. They’re liked – high 5(!), so now they’re sent to the very swanky client. I get an update from a very excited husband at lunch as he fills me in on this, and also throws in to the conversation that he’s having his lunch, a sandwich, obviously, at the office, outside, on the roof, by the pool! What?! The office building is part business, part residential, so there’s access to the resident’s pool and gym and stuff. Holy cow! I give him some encouraging words not to stuff this up! Ha - only (half) joking.
The afternoon fairs well for him, but it turns out the client likes the silliness, but would like something more traditionally swanky for their project. Oh well, it’s seen as a step in the right direction, that’s the main thing.
We pop to the shops for essential snacks and booze. We get home and await the arrival of the Robertson-Jones’. I cook and Woody gets out as many toys as he can in a short period of time.
The Ro-Jo’s arrive and we snack and chat and the fellas build cubbies and play. We get the kiddies off to sleep. It is hotter than the sun, and we sit and sweat over our pizzas. No exaggeration. We just sit and sweat, and chat and drink, until it cools down. We eat ice cream and fruit, and chat and drink, of course. Noah and Dan exchange graphic design geek speak, but mostly we just enjoy booze and chat. Good times.
Noah is the last man standing and stays up to do some work surrounded by empties.
Good night lovely friends
