Image by Freaking News

Yes, it’s December! The giddiness of Christmas preparations and excitement never ebbs in my home during the festive season. And yes, I have Christmas carols ringing through the house, on my iPod, at work, etc…I just love this time of year.

Driving home from work yesterday, however, the lyrics of It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year struck a chord in me. The dulcet tones of Nat King Cole do that to me at the best of times, yet the words of the song caused me to stop and think outside of my happy Christmas bubble.

The first was the line ‘And everyone telling you “be of good cheer”‘ and the second was ‘When loved ones are near’.

What if, for many people, there is nothing that cheery about December 25th? What if loved ones aren’t near? My thoughts jumped to those who will be sleeping on streets, vying for a night in community shelters, parents who have lost children this year, children who have recently lost parents, those in prison, the frail who are rarely visited in nursing homes across the country or even closer to home…my beautiful elderly neighbour who is now widowed. I wonder what goes through their minds when these songs are heard.

Christmas was never about amassing gifts and indulging in outlandish gluttony, so why is it that so many of us are committed to making it so? I am as guilty as the next person in focussing heavily on meal plans and present lists a little more than the plights of the lonely, so I’m glad a simple Christmas song stopped me in my tracks at the beginning of December when I have time to do something about it rather than in the middle of scoffing another slice of fruit cake on Christmas night.

I was always taught that to give was better than to receive and that sharing made the treat twice as nice…sounds silly, but as a child who loved sugar, I was not going to let an opportunity like that slip away. I was sharing all my stocking treasures, left, right and centre to test the theory…and guess what? It works! Self indulgent rather than altruistic? As a child, probably. As an adult, I hope not.

This year, thoroughly enjoy your Christmas planning, partying and opening your presents at the crack of dawn. Have a wonderful time feasting on food you’ve been hanging out all year to eat with loved ones. Yet in the midst of the festive frenzy, I challenge you (and myself!) to step out and live a little larger where we can. My daughter has an amazing gift of speaking freely and gently with the elderly so we are making mini Christmas cakes and taking Christmas carols and stories to our local nursing home to spend some hours chatting and reading to the residents.

Give, talk, write, babysit, share, clothe, feed, donate, invite, care…make a difference in someone elses Christmas. You may be surprised with what is in your hand and what your heart is capable of.

Enjoy!

Michaela.

To all our Canadian friends who are enjoying their Thanksgiving celebrations, thefamilyroom wishes you and yours a lovely holiday.

Image by Better The World

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is also the month when the annual “Run for the Cure” takes place in an effort to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.

I am of course going to be a participant in this year’s event. I feel obligated to participate in the 5 km walk/run since being diagnosed with primary breast cancer last year for the second time in my young life. I feel I must do my part to try and stop this disease from destroying the lives of more wonderful, beautiful, precious individuals who did nothing to deserve their diagnosis.

Though I must admit I am beginning to feel somewhat unsure about my actual motive for running this year. At first I convinced myself that I was running to raise money for a cure. However the more I seem to think about my reasons for running, the more I question if this is truly just a fundraising effort or is there some deeply buried, underlying reason I have chosen to register as a participant.

Am I just throwing the majority of my spare time into raising money for a cause because it is so near and dear to my heart? As I began to dissect the motivation behind my decision to run, I began to see that not only was I running for a cure, but in doing so I was in fact running from cancer!

I am becoming very, very skilled at running from cancer. Having been the winner of my first race against cancer in 2001, I felt very confident that I had an advantage. I had become the master at pouring all of my extra time and energy into activities that allowed me turn my back on issues surrounding my own diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

It was becoming seemingly clearer that I had been training for this “run” for the past 12 months, only I had never even laced up a pair of running shoes. The training I had been doing was all mental and much, much harder than the physical act of training for a marathon. I had spent the last 12 months running away from cancer! I trained like a tri-athlete, becoming much faster and stronger with every session.

I spent just under a year training my mind to run away from my reality and the possibilities that coincide with a cancer diagnosis. I was now becoming the best, my pace was remarkable, my stamina was outstanding and then I “hit the wall” so to speak. The reality of my entire experience with cancer finally caught up to me and was challenging me like never before. I began to realize that I could no longer hold this pace and leave my reality in the dust. It was something I knew had to be faced head-on or I would begin to fall to the back of the pack and risk losing the race of my life.

Each day I work towards facing my fears and dealing with issues head-on even if it means that I may not cross the finish-line in 1st place.

I know that people all around me are athletes, training for their own “races” as they journey through their lives. Each of us has our own race to run; some longer than others, some completely uphill, others along a more smooth and winding road, and some unfortunately will fall out of the race much earlier than anticipated after struggling for every small, hard-fought step.

Remember those who fought hard in the race; remember those who could not keep the pace.

Jennifer Davin Lindgren.

The Local Farmers Markets 

Image by North Shore Dish

Whether you live in the outback or in the city, there is always somewhere to buy organic, homegrown produce. I was in Sydney last weekend visiting my sister when we stopped by the Hawkesbury Harvest Farmer’s & Fine Food Market which is held on the 2nd Saturday of each month. 

Image by Native Food & Wine

Before we even parked the car, it was obvious that this was the place to be early on a Saturday morning. The place was buzzing with foodies eager to grab their favourite ingredients that were not only organic, homemade or a rare find, but inexpensive! Everything from olives and breads to oysters and berries were available. The smell of freshly brewed coffee was tormenting as the queue was far too long for our limited visit. Note to self – arrive early next time!

As we were on our way to mum’s for breakfast, we stopped by for some fresh country bacon which sizzled on the barbeque to perfection I might add.  My sister ’accidentally on purpose’ purchased a cherry pie aswell while I couldn’t resist the pull of the craft stall…who doesn’t want faux grass covered bunnies? Mock if you will, but come Easter, my table will look fab! 

Image by Farm.org.au

Farmers markets are like gold nuggets in big cities. Being a city dweller, unable to spend days driving from farm to farm to track down my favourite honey or cheese, I love the concept of farmers bringing their produce to us. In sincere appreciation of our Aussie farmers, I say thank you!

If you have never been, I would encourage you to frequent them as part of your food buying routine. The quality cannot be compared to many supermarkets. 

Image by Everleigh Farmers Market

,Here are some farmers markets that are worth the visit: 

Sydney: 

Hawkesbury Harvest Farmer & Fine Food 

Everleigh Farmers Markets 

Northside Produce Markets 

Melbourne: 

Collingwood Children’s Farm 

Ceres Farmers Market

Grab your family and/or friends and head out this Saturday morning to a local farmers market in your city. Don’t forget to take an environmentally friendly shopping bag as some markets don’t supply bags and could potentially frown upon plastic bags.

Enjoy!

Michaela.

Image by Getty/The Bergman Group.

Sometimes ignorance can be bliss.

In the last 12 months (as I get older), I’m looking to reset, and reboot areas of my life, and the life of my family. stagnant, thoughtless, purposeless repetition….avoid, avoid, avoid!

Education has been at the centre of this process. And the internet has been a boon.

Between thestoryofstuff and Food inc. and many other books and documentaries, I’m severely challenged by the knowledge of what the global consumer economy is doing to humanity and the planet. Driven by price, and price alone……the land of $20 DVD players, $1000 cars, cheap sushi, Big Macs etc……

So let’s consume…..differently.

The old adage of “buy cheap, buy twice” has never been truer. Not only has this definition of false economy endured, its essence is now amplified. If you buy cheap, not only will you buy twice, three times etc., but ultimately you will pay in other ways…pollution, illness. These back-end costs are infinitely worse and are past your own lifespan, but onto the lives of your children and grandchildren, their health, well-being……

Buy BETTER, Buy LESS
Better quality the first time……less trips to the returns department, less testing of the warranty policy, less time wasted, better quality consumer goods….less line-up time, car time, internet price checking time, emotional expenditure…..

Buy ORGANIC, Buy LESS
Have you looked at how much organic chicken/beef is? It’s more per lb/kg. So simply…..EAT LESS! COOK SLOWER….

I have bought Wagyu beef a couple of times. Crazy stuff…..so expensive, and so rich, that you can’t eat a lot of it…..so you buy cheaper cuts, cook it slowly (you can’t barbecue it anyway, it will all melt away), and eat less of it…..

Now, less meat? Hmmmm. It’s happening naturally, but I’m not going to be vegetarian…unless it’s medically prescribed….call it weakness or short sightedness…but I like red meat.

Having said that a few trips to Real Food Daily in Santa Monica, opened my mind and palate up to the reality of really tasty and filling vegetarian meals……so tofu steaks….sure! Now if I can only figure how to use less salt when I eat vegetarian….

And true to form…..each of us, everyday, doing something a little bit different, will lead to….incremental exponentialism of course!

Let the snowballing begin.

Philip.

I was recently given a copy of the book Three Cups of Tea written by Greg Mortenson. It’s all about ‘one man’s mission to promote peace, one school at a time’. I was given the book {if you can believe it} by my Kindergarten teacher, Gaye Moss, an incredible woman whom I have written about on this site before. She has impacted and influenced my life since I was five years old and continues to do so at 40 years.

This book inspired me on so many levels. I was challenged by Mortenson’s spirit of adventure and his ability to simply be himself in every situation. The strength of his character and his honest love and desire for people came through in so many ways. I loved how life began for him and the experiences his parents gave him which shaped his life and influenced the man he became. The impact his father had on him reminded me of how important our male role models are in what I believe is a fatherless generation. Mortenson was blessed to have such a great father, with this I identified as I have been blessed with an extraordinary father myself.

His passion for people, regardless of race, culture, status or background, ‘had me at hello’. He broke through the stigmas, political challenges, religious walls and language barriers and saw humanity. His friendships and his ability to establish true relationships with people, not just working relationships or relationships for convenience, were true, life-long and life-giving.

Mortenson worked tirelessly to help people. He saw a need and endeavoured to fill it, using only what was in his hand. The equation was simple and unassuming, yet the work was hard and the challenges great. He did all this with no acclaim and no connections, it was simply a hand to the grindstone situation. It truly was, one school at a time; one child at a time.

Slowly but surely schools were built, children were educated and relationships grew. Trust was established and boundaries were broken. Mortenson stayed in Pakistan during 9/11. He remained true to his belief of education, love, honesty and relationship as the way to peace.

He proved himself to be honourable, wise and a true lover of humanity. The life and story of Greg Mortenson and his love for people has inspired me to continue on. When the days are tough and I feel like I am making no impact, I am reminded of Mortenson tucked away in his basement, writing letters, asking for help as he laboured for an education for children he might never meet, the communities he would change and families who would be forever grateful.

Mortenson knew that if you develop relationships, you can strengthen a community and you can build extraordinary families. Through our work we endeavour to do the same. Today, I will keep dreaming and I will keep writing, speaking out and asking because, like Greg Mortenson and his dream of education, somewhere someone needs me to keep believing and keep building.

Susan J Sohn

Every family hits highs and lows, yet mostly sail along on a relatively even keel. Yet sometimes out of nowhere storms that cause us to be shaken up a little more than we bargained for come our way. That’s where the strength of community can play such a vital role…those rare indescribable moments when those around us step in, not only to lend a hand, but hold our hand.

After listening to the heart of a dear friend who’s family is facing their own storm, I started thinking of family and community as a tree and rememered the many similarities in each organism.

Each starts out small with intent to grow and become strong.

Those of you who have been following our website for a while now, know that thefamilyroom crew are constantly thinking of ways to enrich the lives of our young families and hopefully along the way inspire you and yours to grab whatever catches your eye and add your own spin.

With this in mind, I thought I’d ask myself some basic questions regarding the elements required to keep a tree, a community and a family healthy.

1. What am I feeding my family? Will it nourish and sustain it for the long haul?

2. When the storms of life come along, will my family stand strong?

3. Is my family reproducing itself? And if so, are the offshoots healthy?

4. Is my family’s fruit sweet or sour?

5. Does my family provide shelter and strength for those around us?

6. Are there things in my family that need ‘pruning’ or do I let them hang on?

7. Is my family planted deeply in something greater?

8. When my family is feeling frail is strong support at the ready to tie it to?

Just a few thoughts. Amid the rush of family life, it’s always good to break things down and take stock every once in a while.

Michaela.

Photography by Nicole Polk

Thought of the week…

Surprise someone!

Everyone loves a hamper. Why not surprise someone this week with a bundle of goodies just for fun. While out doing the grocery shopping, add a few extra items to your trolley for a loved one, a neighbour, a teacher, a collegue, etc. Brighten someone’s day with a little extra effort.

After thinking long and hard about what community is, I have come to realise it’s not just a group of people residing in the same suburb and a little farther. It is so much more than that…it’s about what chapters you choose to write that include others. What imprint you stamp in the lives of those who cross your path whether that is a few or a crowd.

Rochelle, one of our contributors has written so beautifully about what the community she grew up in looked like. She mentions her parents who chose to live for a time in Papua New Guinea with a purpose. They didn’t just reside inside their homes keeping to themselves. They stepped outside and offered all they had…and, I’m sure, encouraged others to do so.

Naturally, this will look very different for everyone, yet for me, watching my parents, who have fostered children for over 50 years, give so much to a community that so many would prefer to pretend didn’t exist, is still completely inspiring. They saw their lives as a blank canvas for community, in whatever shape it came, to throw its heart upon leaving a picture that no artist could possibly capture.

Hundreds of children, teens and young adults in desperate need found not only open arms and a safe place to find calm amid many storms, they were left with an imprint of hope and belief in something greater than their current circumstances. The beautiful flipside in seeing so many young people realise that their own lives could have a positive influence was reward indeed and ripple effect will never be truly known.

As a child growing up in a home that had such an open heart, I could not escape the awareness of need in our community.

Whether it was deliberate intention of my parents to impart this knowledge or the natural cause and effect of watching and listening, I am unsure. What I do know is that their lives scripted strong credos to live by and the desire to help in my young mind…I know my siblings would concur.

From my teens to now, volunteering and giving is something that has always been a given. A legacy of helping in whatever capacity is something that I hope is always part of my life.

So I take out another sheet of blank paper from my heart and write something that my daughter will not only be proud of but hopefully, learn to mimic in her own way.

Your community awaits you. Your story may never be published, your deeds may go unseen by many, your heart will be stretched to the limits, yet what will you write upon these pages of history?

Thought of the week…

It’s not as hard as you think! Taking the time to chat to an eldery neighbour, bringing someone else’s bins in, being courteous in traffic (ok that one’s hard!), making a little more to share when cooking, sharing your umbrella, not shying away from complimenting someone, babysitting for friends who need time out, writing an encouraging letter, speaking positive words into someone, cropping unflattering pictures of your friends out of photos before posting them on facebook (haha!), using your spare time to help out where you can, etc…