My mom's not a member of her local garden club for nothing. She loves plants. Probably adores them more than she does her own kids. She and her garden club friends travel around Cebu to visit places with plants in them and I can just imagine her posing next to whatever botanical wonder that catches her fancy and asking her friends to take a picture because that's exactly what she was like when my sister and I took her to the Royal Botanic Gardens in the city.
It's cute. My mom is such a poser.
Like me, I guess.
It was the perfect summer day for such an excursion. The sun was out and the wind was cool. It wasn't one of those hellish Melbourne afternoons that burns all your sins away, but it was just the right amount of purgatory where you're simply happy to be alive and loving your drip.
We started the day at South Yarra, upon Jeff's suggestion because he knows the city best and also because he was driving so yeah, whatever. I wasn't really fussed whether we were eating or intermittent fasting. Either way was fine by me.
At any rate, we ended up at Lambs on Malvern for their famous souvlaki. My sister caught the tram from her place to meet up with us there; where she told me she liked my skirt and I stupidly offered to give it to her after I wash it and so now here I am totally regretting my generosity.
I want it back.
We were supposed to take Mommy on a guided tour around the extensive 34-hectare state park where she'd just be sitting on a bus and save her poor leg circulation from a lot of walking but the ticketing office is on the other side from where we were parked and walking there was pretty much the same as DIYing the tour for free so we decided to try punting on the lake instead.
Unlike my skirt, it turned out to be the best snap decision ever.
To be honest, unless you're obsessed with bird sighting, there's really not much to see around the lake apart from water and trees which was a beauty in itself, don't get me wrong.
BUT.
As soon as the punter rowed us out of the dock, it was the complete feeling of quiet and serenity that overtook me that made all the difference.
It was the sound of the water swishing against the boat, soothing in the regularity of its strokes.
In our little floating cocoon, the hustle and bustle of the city melted away into insignificance as I sat in appreciation for the lotus flowers that freshly bloomed that week as if they were waiting especially for us.
Raven reaching out to touch a lotus leaf and learning about its water-repellent properties firsthand.
Jeff's arms around me as we watched our daughter sitting on the front enjoying a brand-new experience.
My mum. My sister.
Punting on the lake with the people I love most in the world.
At the end of the day, it's the people you spend it with, isn't it? The novelty of the experience is just there to heighten it.
*Raven at 7 years old
No comments:
Post a Comment