sun shining

Is there anything more glorious than a Sydney winter's day where there is not a cloud in the sky, the air crystal clear and the sun shining brightly on us all below? Today was meant to be a journey into Sydney's deep South-West for a gathering of my uni class from last semester. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes from home (with about an hour 20 to go until arrival and several road tolls in between) the petrol light was on. It was - there's money for tolls or money for petrol. So around we turned. This could have sent me into a 'I hate having no money' 'my life is crap' mega-moment, but instead, we made an impromptu call to some friends and ended up at one of the best parks in the known universe. Here we spent a few hours catching up, kids playing, sun shining. Then we bumped into our old next door neighbour and had a chat, and then we saw some other dear friends and their kids. I'm telling you, this is my idea of a great idea - no domestic chores, children largely keeping themselves occupied, relatively uninterrupted discussion with friends, s.p.o.n.t.a.n.e.i.t.y. and no sweating. Divine, people. Divine. Oh, and the petrol money ended up going on a couple of kids Happy Meals and me reading a Sunday newspaper while they went mad on play equipment at the Golden Arches. Who said I wasn't a cool (albeit dietarily questionable) mum?