Elaine's Christmas letter

Elaine’s Christmas Letter December 2013 Happy Christmas to you!

My year started with a wonderful Christmas holiday on Lord Howe, Australia’s southernmost coral atoll off the coast of NSW, level with Port Macquarie. It was a beautiful beginning to a long year of travel.

Mullebar farm was sold in January and a bumper clearing sale was held. All that remained after the spirited auction of farm and farm house goods were two styrofoam coffee cups and a Coke can: not bad from 444 items up for grabs!. I loved the Acheron farm and the life with friends there and miss them a lot, but now the farm is gone, life is free for new adventures: lots more travel and time for all that Melbourne has to offer.

I spent 10 days away in Thailand in February with a friend, Robyn, visiting Juhani and Marjatta Ojutkangas. Juhani had been very ill and subsequently died in October. How hard for Marjatta but she could rejoice in the richness of the experiences of life together.

In June I travelled to England to visit Alan who had been most unwell, stayed with Carole in London, did a tour of Morocco, and visited Johana and Anna in Paris and Anne in Minneapolis. It was good to be away.

I also had three months in Nairobi working for UNICEF, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although the terrorist attack in Westgate Mall certainly put a pall over life in that beautiful city. The thing I love about working for UNICEF is the opportunity one has to catch up with former work colleagues and Gigiri is certainly the place to do that. I loved the trip to Meru National Park: site of Born Free: beautiful countryside and loads of animals. It was also really good to rent from Mette a good friend from South Sudan days.

Spring has been late and long in Melbourne, as the jacarandas that carpeted Nairobi are still blooming in Melbourne, along with everything else. Spring also brought old friends Dietgard, Ulrich and Christiana from Germany and Hoa Binh from Vietnam to stay and to travel.

The littlies in the family are growing up with Imogen travelling to the US, Alex still playing tennis, Hannah getting ready to go to school and Madeleine finding her feet are actually for walking. We are working up to Helen’s 70^th birthday this week, and a birthday bash in Melbourne in Feb which will be good fun. My aunts (second cousins really) Ruth and Jean died…only one left in my Mum’s generation now and none in Dad’s. Of course such events mean contact with second cousins and other relatives and giving thanks for the contribution of others to our lives.

The history of Acheron which is now almost ready for publishing in preparation for the centenary of the Acheron Hall in June next year. That’s a job I really enjoyed, especially working with Andrea!

The reflection? Well life is shorter than you think. We only each have today. Use it wisely and well. It will not return. Give away in relation to what you have been given. Enjoy the gifts of life. Feel deeply for those whose liberties are severely tested. Their experience is not far from anyone of us. Love to you! Elaine