Day in the Life of a Melbourne Mum

I wrote the following post at the request of a blogger whom I greatly admire for the creativity, humor, wit, and unique combination of the playful and the serious that she pours into My Whit's End.  I have known of Rebecca from childhood as she is a distant relative.  I believe our grandfathers were second or third cousins.  They were also good friends.  Furthermore she is the sister of my brother's sister-in-law's husband, or something like that.  But it was only after stumbling across her blog a year or so ago that I began learning more about her and her beautiful family.

It was Rebecca's idea to do a series of posts written by different women that she knows in different parts of the world.  She thought it would be interesting for us to share our experiences of what a typical day looks like in our households.  I chose an ordinary Monday, and took my camera with me throughout the day to help record the details of all that occurred.  The pictures and text from this day have been posted on Rebecca's blog, but I thought I would include them here as well.

Day in the Life

5:55am  The alarm provides an unpleasant start to the week.  I choose to go back to sleep knowing I will regret it later.  It has taken me nearly a year, but I have finally become accustomed to getting up early.  Except for today that is.

6:25am  I stumble to the kitchen and turn on the kettle to make coffee.  Coffee is serious business in Melbourne.  We discovered this on our first visit.  Still I was shocked when Ross rang me from Costco a couple of months later.  He wanted to know if he should buy the $700 or the $1500 coffee maker.  I quickly replied neither.  We could make do with a French press I told him.  We did eventually purchase a Nespresso machine as well, but I still start every day with a cup of coffee brewed in the plunger, also known in Australia as a Bodum.

One of the things I miss most in Australia Half and Half for my coffee.  In spite of serious effort I have found no equivalent, and no combination of the available creams and milks tastes anything like the American version.  After visiting Singapore I discovered that canned evaporated milk goes nicely with very strong coffee.  So that is what I use, and now I quite like it.

While waiting for the coffee, I unload the dishwasher.  Then I take my coffee to the dining room and turn on the fire in preparation for answering the questions in my study booklet on 1st and 2nd Timothy.  I go to the ladies' Bible study at our church on Monday mornings, and as usual, I have left the questions for the last minute.

6:40  Sophie, my early riser, joins me on the couch for a cuddle, then goes off to tackle her tangled hair.  She insists on doing it herself every morning.

7:10  I get dressed, collect dirty laundry, and survey the piles in the laundry room.  I estimate at least five loads await me today, and that is before collecting sheets and towels.  I'm not sure how this can be as I just did laundry on Saturday. No time to protest however. I throw in a load.  The quick load setting for cottons takes 70 minutes, and this isn't even an energy efficient model.

7:25  I quickly make a panful of fried eggs and put toast in the toaster.  This is what Sophie and I consume while Katie chooses yogurt and frozen berries.  I also heat up Heinz Country Chicken soup for Sophie's thermos.  Sadly she prefers this version to my homemode chicken and noodle soup, but since Ross enjoys buying it for her, I don't resist.  Father and daughter make a powerful combination. The boys are sleeping in this morning, but I hear them beginning to stir.

7:38  We head to the car, and I back it out of the garage.  Katie has not reappeared from her bedroom, so I go in and chase her up.  

7:41 As we wait for our fellow carpooler, neighbor, and good friend of Katie's to join us in the car, I take a few photos, including one of our gps.  Knowing my complete lack of navigational skills, Ross had this installed for me, and it has truly been a lifesaver.  Driving in Melbourne, on the left side of the road from the right side of the car, is difficult enough without having to think about directions.  On this morning's school run, I will have to thread my way through parked cars, and navigate roundabouts, train crossings, trams, bikers, and school buses as well as watch out for dozens of pedestrians.  

It is a beautiful morning, and I am finally starting to feel awake and ready for the day.

8:05  I drop the girls off at Presbyterian Ladies College, and point the car toward home, where the boys are eating breakfast, packing lunches, and getting their backpacks ready.

8:25  I check that the boys are properly dressed, carry the dirty dishes from the table to the sink, hang the first load of washing on the drying rack, start the second, and hunt down a missing school jumper for James.

8:35  The boys leave on their respective forms of wheeled transportation while I follow behind on foot.  They are soon far ahead, especially after I stop for some photos.

8:50  There is a buzz in the prep classrooms (prep is the equivalent of American kindergarten) as today is the day of a big excursion to the Melbourne Museum.  I help James sort out his reader bag, water bottle, disposable lunch, and name tag, and then hang around the edge of the classroom.  Their teacher has her students start every day seated in a circle at her feet.  She initiates the morning routine with "Good morning beautiful preps!"  They respond in unison, "Good morning beautiful Mrs. Cummings."  It is very sweet.  I noticed first the use of the term gorgeous in Australia to refer to character rather than physical appearance, and I would say that beautiful is used in a similar manner.

9:00 Normally on a Monday at this time I would be starting a 3.5 mile walk with my neighbor, friend, and partner in crime Gillian. We are not walking today, but I will include a picture taken yesterday of my favorite part of the walk.  

Since I am not walking, I chat with a handful of other mums while we wait for our preps to board the bus.  Melbourne doesn't have big yellow school buses.  Children either walk, take public transportation, or are driven to school by their parents.  A few ride chartered private buses such as the one pictured below.

9:20  I walk back home, well and truly ready for a second breakfast.  Fortunately I have my favorite full cream blueberry yogurt in the fridge, which I top off with what looks to me like bird food. Gillian has convinced me it is healthy, and will keep me from constantly feeling hungry.  It's also time for a second coffee.

9:30 I have just enough time before Bible Study to: a) call family back in North America before they go to bed; b) clean up the kitchen; or c) finish a blog post that I started a few days ago.  I opt for the latter because it is more fun than dishes, plus it will communicate with several people at one time.

10:05  I begin walking to our church after hanging out another load of laundry. I'm somewhat late, but there is still time for a cuppa and a chat before we get down to our study.

12:20  Back home again.  The dirty dishes have not magically disappeared, and the laundry room is beckoning, but I am starving again, so decide to ignore them both.  I am reheating pumpkin soup that I made last week.  Pumpkin is very popular in Melbourne, but it is almost always served as a savory dish, either roasted in chunks and added to salads, or pureed and made into soup.  There are at least three types of pumpkins available at the grocery store, but I have found the Kent pumpkins make the best soup.  Last week I roasted the pumpkin in a hot oven, peeled it, and then combined it with chicken broth and thickened cream.  Yum, especially on a cool autumn day.

While I am eating lunch, I open my computer to prepare for a parents' association meeting at the girls' school tomorrow night.  Because I have a hard time saying no to friends, I agreed to serve as secretary of the Senior School Parent Association.  Mostly I regret this decision, but it has given me the opportunity to spend time with the staff and get to know a handful of parents.  I also call the doctor and make an appointment for our son Cameron.  The three older children had the flu last week, and his throat is still bothering him.

1:00pm  Time for a third coffee, and then I start the beef stew for tonight's dinner.  Last time I was at the grocery store, I purchased a soup starter pack that looked intriguing.  I have hidden it from the children so they do not know ahead of time that there will be unusual vegetables in their stew.  I also hang up the third load of laundry and start the fourth.

Once the vegetables are peeled and simmering, I have just enough time to clean up the kitchen before driving to pick up Cameron in time for his 2pm appointment.  He is very happy to miss the last hour and a half of classtime.  The doctor takes a quick look at his swollen tonsils, and decides Cameron does not need antibiotics, so at least we avoid a trip to the pharmacy.  When we get home, I run upstairs where the girls' bedrooms are located and find every single light on and the bathroom fan running.  Clearly they are not getting the message about conserving energy. 

 

2:45pm  I walk several blocks to our local grocery store to pick up fresh rolls to accompany tonight's stew.  Melbourne has fantastic bakeries, so I rarely bake at home these days. 

3:15pm  As I'm walking to pick James up from school, I note the horrible traffic and am very glad to not be behind the wheel of a car.  In the schoolyard, one of James's mates comes bursting out the door to tell me that James has been crowned prince of the week.  This means he gets to take home Paddington the Bear, along with other special privileges.  The first thing James does at home is take Paddington for a bike ride.  I end up in the laundry room again, where I decide to throw the fourth load of laundry in the dryer as there is no more hanging space and leave the fifth load for tomorrow.  Cameron practices the piano while I chat with James and get ready for an afternoon of swimming lessons and squad training.

4:15  Sophie is dropped off by our neighbor, and we jump in the car for James's 4:30 swimming lesson.  Cameron has training from 5pm to 6:15, so I decide we will all stay put at the swim center for the duration.  While the kids swim I periodically read my latest book, Please Understand Me and field text messages from Katie who is staying after school and riding the tram home on her own.  Texting is a big change in my life down under.  I never texted before moving here, but it is the primary form of communication in Melbourne, so I have had to become proficient.  As it becomes dark, I begin to worry.  Katie has apparently put her phone on silent and is no longer responding to my texts or calls.  She has in fact arrived home and begun to do her homework, but I don't know that as we are still at the swimming pool.  

6:30  Home again.  I heat up the stew, pop the rolls in the oven, and scold Katie for not checking her phone.  She gets upset, and we have a few words.  I also realize that a fifth load of laundry is inevitable with the dirty wet towels, so I start both that and the dishwasher.

6:50  Ross surprises us by arriving home earlier than normal.   This means we can eat dinner together on a school night, something that does not happen all that often.  The kids are all starving, which makes for a relatively quiet meal.  There are no comments about the rutabaga and the turnip.  Ross and I exchanged winks when Sophie refers to one of them as a piece of potato.  He reads to the children from the book of Esther while they eat oranges for dessert.  Doing the dishes is a mostly family affair, but I tackle the final cleanup of the kitchen.

 

7:30  It is relatively quiet again as Sophie and Katie are finishing homework, Cameron is reading, and James is hanging out with his very favorite person in the world, his dad.  I jump into the shower.  Afterward Sophie and I read Inkheart out loud together.  Katie practices the flute, and Ross tucks James into bed.

 

8:30  I spend some time with Cameron and Sophie as they head off to bed.  Ross decides to walk to Coles for more fruit and a few items for the pantry.  Thankfully I remember the wet towels in the washing machine.  They are thrown into the dryer, but I decide to skip unloading and reloading the dishwasher.  Katie and I have a chat now that we have both calmed down from our earlier argument.  I remind her that I love her and was upset because I was concerned for her safety.  She gives me a hug, and we both turn in for the night.

 

9:00  Ross returns from Coles, and we have a brief chat about the day.  I try to read some more but am sound asleep by 9:30, exhausted, as you probably are as well if you have managed to accompany me this far on my Monday in Melbourne.  Thanks for coming along!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Aunt Marion]

I so enjoyed hearing of all the details of your day and the pictures that make it seem like I was there with you!

[Christie]

Thanks Aunt Marion. Wish you could spend another day with us in Melbourne. Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!