Maybe it was Doris working in the pharmacy or Christopher picking up bugs at Possums, but the fact was that we kept on getting colds. Annabelle and Bernt got really ill in July, when we actually went to emergency at the hospital on a Sunday because they were that sick. It required a few courses of antibiotics (something we’d rather not take) to get over.
But regrettably Annabelle kept on getting sick – ‘two weeks on, one week off’- type of thing, from July until November. The last bout was also the worst, where she kept coughing for about three weeks (especially at night time), and when she coughs she often vomits. After having to change the sheets three times one night, we got pretty adept at getting a bowl in front of her to vomit into. Didn’t always work though, especially with the projectile ones…
We also had two other trips to Queensland. The first one in August to attend our friends Peter and Silvia’s wedding in Port Douglas. We’d planned a day in Sydney on the way there to do some sight-seeing and for Christopher to experience the Sydney trains and Monorail. Bit of bad luck there: firstly there was major rail maintenance so there were no trains in the CBD, and it rained cats and dogs the whole day… Then at the airport at night, ready to board our flight to Cairns, Annabelle developed a high (40 degrees+) fever. No doctor’s surgery open at the airport anymore, so we had to cancel our flight, rent a car and take her to emergency again… There had been some reports of a deadly flu that especially affected small children, so we didn’t want to take any risks. She was OK though – it was a flu that she had somehow picked up and there was nothing that the doctor could give her so we flew to Cairns the next day. We did have a great time at the wedding and in Northern Queensland though, despite Annabelle not getting better until we got back to Hobart.
Then in early November Doris had a seminar in the Gold Coast, and we decided to make that a small family holiday (Bernt didn’t really cherish the idea of 5 days with the kids by himself…). Doris absolutely loved Doreen Virtue’s Angel seminar and got (and still gets) a lot inspiration out of it. It fits in perfectly with the other spiritual things that Doris has done, and feels like the appropriate next step on her path.
Bernt has been revisiting ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle. While he was busy on his project he was doing really well, but he didn’t keep up the momentum and got into a few down periods (again). With Bernt his thinking always plays a major part in that – mainly because it’s so negative: regrets about the past, worries about the future, and beating himself up over perceived mistakes.
As it is with most people, his thinking is incessant, and when it’s negative that can be quite harmful – depression, and even physical complaints can result.
The ‘funny’ thing is that the majority of this continuous thinking is unnecessary: what’s the use of regrets or worry (or Bernt’s favourite question ’what’s it all good for?’), when all you really have is This Moment – the Now.
This is where the ‘Power of Now’ gives you ways to interrupt the continuous stream of involuntary thinking, so you can be in the moment, and enjoy the beauty of life that lies beyond thought (including the beauty of your children…).
And then when you also actually DO something positive too, you’re not adding to your regrets…
After Doris’ seminar we still had a couple of days, so we relaxed and we went to Dreamworld (an adventure park) on the Gold Coast, and we all loved it!
The warm weather in Queensland did wonders for Annabelle: she got over her colds and has barely been sick since (it helps that Tassie has warmed up too!).
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