sweet november...

I love this weather. Singlets and skirts weather. Wear your hair out all scraggly weather. Spontaneous drive to the beach weather. Late afternoon walking weather. Early morning Mass weather. Sunshine, butterflies, pretty flowers and cold beverage weather.

How did the end of the year come around so quickly? Today it's Angela's birthday - Anj: one of my first real friends here in Sydney. One of the first people who I told about my dreams, crushes and deepest darkest secrets. The one who giggled, teased, discussed, joked and asked questions with me about pashing, sex and boys. The one who I made plans with to move out and be sisters-in-law because we were both going out with boys from the same family. The one who still comes to me for advice, and who always gives me the most honest opinion - even about how bad I look. The one who is always Angela - even after months of not seeing her. *sigh* You're the epitome of the bestest friend to ever have... and I hope today's the best day for you!

Our lives flew past... since our times jumping down the giant steps at St Pat's. Long jump behind the yr 1 and 2 classrooms. Playing "Families" under the Four Trees. Throwing bottle-brush seeds at make-believe enemies in our shameful but funnily creative games. Stuck-in-the-mud, Red-Rover and touch football. Getting hit with a batt by Ryan Marchetta. Fights about immature things like jealousy and ice blocks.

I love how to a 7-year-old, a concrete path is anything BUT a concrete path. In primary school that path to the back gate was the divide between make-believe dimensions. It was loaded with fantastic creatures who breathed fire, melted into chocolate when you touched them, and spat out slugs if you tried to run away. It was the division between the boy's soccer field and the rest of the playground, but it was also the division between the not-so-real world and the world where you wish everything you imagined was real; like candy covered pencils that gave you the ability to fly when you finished eating them, bull ants that spoke to you about whether or not you were on the right path to finding treasure, walls that had hidden maps embedded into its sandstone surface... ice-blocks also gave you magical powers. Powers to fly, powers to read people's thoughts, powers to do voodoo on mean sports teachers, powers to make boys like you, powers to turn your ham sandwich into chocolate fudge... the list goes on.

It still amazes me how the years come and go so quickly... and suddenly all the plans you had become distant memories. With time slipping away so fast, I wonder why I find it so hard to be patient?