BACK TO COOMA

 At the celebrations for Cooma Public School's 150th! Caught up with ex students like Fiona and Susan McKenzie and Fiona's kids.

 Got to play tennis with and against folk like 95 year old Myrtle Boate and 81 yr old Bruno Nosek. Maybe there's a few years left in me yet!

 Here's where our family lived back then ... 1986 to 1998.

 Gerald & Fiona own Cooma Sports Store so we called in there for an update before going for a local ride.

 There are some beautiful spots round town.

 At the Cocktail Party, we caught up with a bunch of ex teachers as well as students, parents and members of the wider community.

 Brooke Astle (centre) is now a teacher. She was a student back when I was at CPS. She is flanked by Deb Geach and her daughter. Deb taught with me back in the 86-98 period and this is her youngest daughter!

So, where do you stay when you come to Cooma? At the BUNKHOUSE of course! Good to catch the Bohl family here. Good place to stay.

VICTORIAN MOUNTAIN COUNTRY

 You tend to come across some wild types while wandering through this mountain country. It's heavily wooded and is a playground for heaps of mountain bikers too. Later of course the skiers will be all through this area.

 We wandered up to Mt Buller yesterday and today attacked Mt Stirling - didn't quite make it to the top.

 Good trekking, without it being too rocky. Fay and I certainly found we were a bit out of condition.

 About 24 degrees, so we found our jeans just a tad warm. Didn't quite have enough energy to make it to a bush hut we were aiming for. But, an hour's hiking was better than nothing we reckon.

All the big 4WDs were out today. We're driving the closest one - 2WD Pug 307.

...AND A TIME FOR EVERY SEASON

Rob (local bloke) told me the other day that he’s finished with boats. He used to be an avid boatie. He reckoned it wouldn’t bother him if he never got into another boat.

Last year friend Frank decided it was time to hang up his Coastal Patrol cap. He’d been an integral member of the volunteer organisation for countless years.

fffff

From time to time we make decisions to end a connection with something which has been a huge commitment in time and energy. Time to move on, as they say.  Of course for every incident where a person “moves on” there are many more where a person doesn’t “move on”.  There’re many stories of teachers who continued in the field for much longer periods than their peers. Sadly, in the education field, numerous teachers and educators continue in their profession to the detriment of their own health.

My Dad, who was a government veterinarian, had an overseas trip with work in 1959 at the age of 46. He had to deliver a paper at the World Veterinary Conference in Madrid. Then at the age of 52, he attended another such conference in Rome, this time taking his wife (my mother) on the trip. After he retired he went on a number of overseas trips, mostly to North America. I remember Dad finally telling me that his travelling days were over. He had decided to hang up his passport.

So, what things am I involved in and which of these are getting towards the end of their “use-by date”? Tennis? Still playing a couple of times a week. Costs me very little in dollars and not too much in time. (When did I last buy a tennis racquet? How much is a new one?) Then there’s my passion for cycling. While I have certainly ceased doing 1,000 km week-long rides, I still enjoy doing a 20 or 30 km ride locally. I know I don’t have the same desire to camp in my sleeping bag on a pump-up mattress in a bunch of church halls. That’s one thing I seem to have let go.

Travel? In 2011 Fay and I had a great road trip around the USA and parts of Canada. Then in 2012 we enjoyed two months in Europe culminating in a weeklong bicycle and barge trip – Brugges to Amsterdam.  Oh, and then a week in Mexico at the end of that. This year is a year to regroup, support family and think about where to go in 2014. So, it doesn’t look as though the travel bug has departed just yet. (How many more places in the world are there that we would like to visit?)

So, maybe I shouldn’t be thinking in terms of what I’m going have to let go of, but rather what am I going to take up! Underwater macramé? Probus? Bridge? Gardening? Volunteering at Inasmuch Retirement Hostel? Community volunteer driver? Guess I should come back and look at this in a year or two and see just what’s happening.

How about you? Are you about to drop something? Are you about to take on something? Are you hanging on to something that maybe you should be dropping? Think about it. Wanna share?