Christmas break?!?

Well despite my well intentioned ideas and my self confessed addition to blogging (which didn't last long) I have not added any posts to this blog over the Christmas time. My only excuse is that internet speed at my parents place on the Coromandel is something that just cannot be discussed in polite company. And being the impatient person that I am I just could not be bothered waiting.......

I have come to think that the whole Christmas "holiday" or rest time has become an urban myth... Just looking at the time that we have had since the 22nd of December that was supposed to be a time to relax and recharge I have come to the conclusion that we do too much and try to fit in too much.

Now I am not saying that I didn't enjoy my Christmas because it was a great time of catching up with people that we have not seen for 6 months or longer. But now I find myself trying to catch up with all sorts of other things including, sleep, washing, (no matter how hard you try to keep up with this it is always there threatening to swamp you), shopping and other miscellaneous things.

We spent our time off travelling..... To Auckland then Ngatea, then Papa Aroha (for those who do not recognise this destination it is a little place 14 kms north of Coromandel township - so far up the Coromandel penisula that you can see the back of Waiheke Island from the front window of my parents house there) then back to Ngatea. While in Ngatea we drove to such wonderful tourist spots(?) as Te Awamutu, Hamilton, Waihe, Waihe beach and of course back to Auckland to catch up with those we didn't the first time around.. Then Yesterday we drove back home to Wellington. Man I was so please just to be home... and not living out of a suitcase.

So to say I am sick of being in a car is a small understatement...... I do not know what I was thinking before going away to volunteer to help the Divisional Youth Secretary in the deep South to drive to Raurimu (Blue Mountain Lodge) and back in one day tomorrow.... I think that I will get back from there and totally not want to see the inside of another car again .... for at least a week anyway.

I am now looking forward to a few days of real rest (after my trip tomorrow of course) doing more or less nothing while we prepare for Thursday when we start our outtraining at Kilbirnie Corps of The Salvation Army. I must say I am really looking forward to getting stuck into some real work.... Not that we have not been working really hard this past year but that has mostly been theory and classes etc. Now we get to practise on real live people all week not just the odd prison service, Religious Education in schools and weekends.......... I am really looking forward to it....