I just struck a deal with my hubby.  For at least a couple of hours over this long weekend I renounce my throne, as it were and most definitely abdicate my responsibilities.  For at least a couple of hours, I plan to sit in my chair, or maybe even on the grass, with a magazine in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.  And during that time I will not be responsible for looking after, feeding, keeping my eye out, entertaining or figuring out what to do with the girls.  At all.

One thing I’ve discovered after our recent trip away is that so-called relaxing weekends away are generally relaxing for everyone else except the mother who makes it all happen.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent the fact that the task of pulling everything together ultimately falls to me, after all, someone has to do it and when they hubby is away all week it kind of makes sense.  But I find that the balance of relaxing time has not been evenly split of late.  Christmas proved to be a prime example of that and our trip away last weekend confirmed it.  So this time around, I’ve put my request in early and hopefully I can find my five minutes of peace to recharge, especially after the last few nights of no sleep!

And it’s only a little bit of time that I want to myself, the rest of it I’m happy to spend enjoying with some of my favourite people.  Especially as it’s not often that I get to enjoy a weekend away at this time of year as I’m normally having to work. But not this year!  This year I plan to relax and enjoy not having to get up at the crack of dawn to set up and manage our local community Australia Day ceremony and celebrations! Woohoo I say.

Yes, in four more days, our beloved Australia Day will be here again, bringing with it a long weekend of fun, sun and no doubt a few coldies.  The weather is looking good – not a blistering 40C plus degrees (104F) which we’ve had the past few years.  Hopefully, after tomorrow, we’ll see the temperature drop to a nice 33C which out by the lake should be a few degrees cooler again!

For those who aren’t aware, January 26 is Australia Day (it also happens to be Ellen Degeneres’ birthday, in case you happen to ever need that piece of useless information).  It is our national holiday commemorating the date that the First Fleet arrived in Australia back in 1788 – if you’re a history buff and keen, you can check out more here.  And in this modern era, Australia Day is about celebrating the good life that we have here.  Nine times out of ten, it involves hanging out with good friends, lighting up a BBQ and engaging in some kind of sporting pursuit, be it actively (i.e. swimming, boating or playing backyard cricket) or passively (watching Tri Series One Day Cricket or the Australian Open Tennis either live or on TV).  It may also involve a Tim Tam Slam!!

And I plan to do most of the above this weekend.  Eat, drink, swim, play outside with the girls and hopefully relax.  After the camper trailer is set up, I plan to take my little family and mosey on down to the lake, where we can sit with a cold beer (well, not the girls obviously!!) and watch the sunset over the water! So for the next couple of days, I plan to ditch the serious and reflective posts and celebrate the awesomeness that is being Australian, living in Australia and not having to work on Australia day!

Do you have any plans for Australia Day? Or if you’re from afar, any plans for the weekend?