We have had some highs and lows this month. You know like life's rollercoaster normally is. We have enjoyed spending time with quality friends. A rush to the vet. And my Wedding Anniversary!
As summer has cooled off and we are on the straight and narrow to winter we have had some beautiful Autumn afternoons. During the week after school we usually like to take advantage of this gorgeous weather and take the kids to the park to play. We found a cracker of a spot for the kids to run around and explore. I can't believe such a little gem was right here in the small Western Sydney suburb of Blacktown. Now that Dante is older I am hoping to explore more with them. We are looking at taking the kids camping for the very first time so I am looking forward to documenting that adventure in the upcoming weeks.
My Great Dane Boxer mix was adopted about when I was 6 months pregnant with Abby. I was in a transition in my life where I felt quite lonely. My friends and I were still young and they were enjoying clubbing and living up there young adulthood. I had just finishing studying so to get a paying job was unsuccessful. I felt like was in limbo. Waiting for baby and waiting to move forward with my career. So I accepted just enjoying the time I had to just rest and enjoy my hobbies. Jackson was great company.
Over the years he has been a great companion and gentle soul to Abby. He has given her and myself great comfort and Abby has grown so attached to him. As she has grown and developed a fear of the dark and loneliness at night, he has helped ease her anxiety. Its been great for me giving me a much needed break from being emotionally present 24/7.
Being a Great Dane and boxer mix means he is prone to health problems and will not have a life expectancy as long as most other dogs. Great Danes live to about 6 usually. So I knew we didn't have a long time with him but I hoped being a mixed breed we will get a little longer. He is 7 now. And had his first health stint. It was terrifying to wake up to him whimpering and unable to walk. A neurological mishap that couldn't be explained. He has fully recovered thank god. It was so traumatic. However the vet advised me that it could happen again and we may be living on borrowed time with him. So for now we will take advantage and be very grateful of the fact he is still here.
On a more positive note. It was our anniversary too. I am a little sad we do not have any pictures of that night to share but it was a funny night.
We had booked an italian restaurant in Blaxland, the Blue Mountains area called Michaelangolo's Italian Restaurant. Using the GPS to find it we parked in a local shopping centre and walked to the shop front. We scratched our heads with puzzled looks to find a little takeaway pizza shop called Michalangelo's Pizzeria. We were adamant we had come to the right address and wondered what to do next. Dialling the restaurants number to double check we just hadn't made a horrible dinner choice for our Anniversary and local walking past chuckled and said the restaurant is up the road if thats what we were looking for.
We sighed with relief asking how far. We were returned with a warm smile and giving walking directions only 100m up the road. So we got walking. and kept walking. 2 km later we puffed and panted on a crisp chilly night. grumbling at the local's terrible directions that it was 'just up the road'
We had some drinks and Entree's and felt wonderful and talk about what felt like months worth of communication to get out. It was nice just to be us. After a long wait on the mains we were showered with free drinks and a surprise dessert platter with happy anniversary on it. It was a wonderful night and will be sure to make it a tradition. We laughed that the '100m' up the road would be easier to walk downhill and enjoyed the thought of walking our carbs off (and my one too many moscato's). We spent the last few moments of our evening hand in hand eager to get back to our kids.
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