A DIFFICULT WEEK

9th to 15th April 2011

'May the road rise to meet you. 
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rain fall soft upon your fields.
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.'
(An Irish Blessing)

This week has been a week filled with sorrow and loss following the passing of my extraordinary Great Gran.  She remains in all our hearts and we will carry her with us always knowing what an amazing, strong, talented and loving person she was. 

Her funeral was on Tuesday, we left Canberra to grey skies and tears falling from heaven in the form of rain,  the mood was quiet and sombre as we travelled.  We arrived in Camden just before lunch and met Nana and Pop at the Caravan Park they were staying at, we found comfort in the hugs we gave each other.  It was cloudy even though it was expected to be sunny however when we arrived at the beautiful old church where the funeral was the sun began to shine brightly through and made the stained glass windows inside the church look exquisite.  The service although extremely sad, was also very touching, I learnt even more about my Great Gran and what an incredible life she had experienced.  Nalani, Jarrett and I were asked to read what I had written on my Blog about her the week before, it was one of the most difficult things I think we have all had to do but as we stood in front of her coffin the words came from our hearts.  I learnt that my Great Gran never wanted to be a bother to anyone, she gave generously and lovingly to others and loved her family dearly. Tears of love flowed as the hearse drove away taking Great Gran, we would never see her or hug her again.

After the service we went to the village she had lived at for many years to celebrate her life, we met many relatives including Great Gran's identical twin sister, Great Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and friends of Great Gran's.  I feel so blessed that I have such an amazing Great Gran, I will miss her but she is always with me, watching over me.

The funeral and travelling had taken its toll on me, I was not feeling well so I did not go to school for the rest of the week.  I will be able to start next Term stronger and well rested.  I did however work on a Science assessment task writing up a report about The Effects of Salinity on Plants.  I am so excited because my experiment is working exactly as I expected it would.  The experiment continues during the holidays and we have to complete our discussion by the second week back at school. 

Amidst the sadness of the week, on Sunday we went to the Good Charlotte Concert, they were supported by Short Stack and a band called New Empire.  I have never been to a concert before and it was an incredible experience.  New Empire were good and then of course Short Stack were awesome, they sang my favourite song Princess and were so energetic on the stage.   Then Good Charlotte came on and they actually sounded better live than what they do on their CD's, we were singing, clapping and tapping our feet, they played old and new songs then after they finished and came out for an encore they sang three more songs.  The lights were a flashing rainbow of  psychedelic colours something I have never seen before.  It was a night I will never forget and one that I totally enjoyed.   I had to wear an ear plug in my left ear, because I can hardly hear in my right so the concert was not too loud in that ear but it seemed so much louder in my left so the ear plug helped balance it out. 

I did not go to hospital for the glycogen test on Tuesday because of the funeral, the appointment has to be re-booked probably for the second week back at school.  Next week I have my MRI on Tuesday, the dentist and my paediatrician on Wednesday and then the optometrist on Thursday.  My MRI is again been done in Canberra, I am beginning to feel just a little nervous as I always do prior to having my MRI, I am hoping that everything has remained stable. 

It was school Cross Country on Wednesday for Nalani and Jarrett, the day was freezing cold and very, very windy.  I was rugged up with many layers including gloves, beanie, scarf and I even had a heat pack to keep me warm as I went to watch them run.  Jarrett ran first and he took off like a bolt of lightning, it was not long before he had a massive lead on the rest of the field.  His race was 4km, he easily won in a time of 11:50:00, he had dedicated his race to Great Gran and I think she would have been so proud of him.  Then it was time for Nalani to run, well she could not run, as she is not quite at that stage yet in her rehabilitation, so instead she race walked it.  She also had to do 4km and you won't believe this but she actually won her age group, she was so surprised, her walking pace is really quick, if you remember when we did the women's and girls fun run/walk Mum had to jog to keep up with her walking pace.  Thursday was my Cross Country but unfortunately this year I was not able to participate in it.  I am setting myself a goal however of doing the Athletics ACT Cross Country Championships in June. 

We got to spend some time with Nana and Pop because they came back to Canberra from Camden and then they were flying back home from here on Saturday.  I love spending time with them and wish we could see more of them.

As an arctic wind whistles wildly outside I have thought about life and how important it is that you live it to its fullest, have dreams, don't be afraid to challenge yourself and to show kindness and love to your family and those around you.