Just Checking In

Belated wishes for a Happy New Year, everybody.

I have started work on my next post, but I have 3 poems in progress - decisions, decisions...

(And decision-making has never been a strong suit of mine!)

Stay tuned 😀

Kath

First Kiss (There Can Be Only One!)

Sometimes, movies from the past

Can make you reminisce

“Highlander” makes me recall

The night of my first kiss.

‘Twas the mid-80’s then

I was a nerdy, frumpy teen

I felt sad and unattractive

Out with a boy? I’d never been.

My friend Nat felt bad for me

And soon had an idea

“Kath,” she said, “I’ve got a plan

It’ll be fun, don’t you fear”.

“You know my boyfriend, Tom?

Well, he’s got this mate…

Let’s us four go out together

Oh, it’s going to be great!”

The big night soon came around

With nerves, I felt quite sick

We headed into Melbourne town

To catch a brand new flick.

The boy and I sat, in silence

As Connor McLeod lopped heads

Till Tom turned 'round to his mate

“You’re not here for the movie,” he said.

I was, of course, quite mortified

And blushed the brightest pink

I’ll spare the details of what came next

You can just imagine, I think.

It ended up being our only date

That’s OK – I wasn’t peeved

For, despite the awkwardness

The “first kiss” goal was achieved. 💏

I’d found a new classic movie

With a killer soundtrack by Queen

The night really was a success

Out with a boy? Yes, I’d been!

Boxing Day and Chill?

It’s Boxing Day in Melbourne

I awoke still full, and tired

I really should relax, and chill

But instead I’m feeling wired.

Half the house is at the cricket

The other half, still asleep

I think about what chores to do

Busy, I like to keep.

I could spend the day at home

No need for the grocery store

We’ve surely enough leftovers

To last a week, or more.

Shopping centres I'll avoid

All those Boxing Day promotions...

They can keep their discounts

All the crowds, and the commotion.  🙅

The house already had a clean

Everything’s been put away

Perhaps I should put up my feet

And enjoy this sunny day.

A comfy chair outside sounds nice

And a nap would suit me fine

But, if I’m still not relaxed...

There's always the leftover wine  🍾

Tennis - My Sport

I think back to my childhood

And all the activities I tried
Calisthenics, tennis, Brownies

Till my parents said “Please decide”

“All of this is just too much

We know you think it’s fun

But, we really can’t keep this up  

So please, Kath, just choose one…”

The decision was quite easy

It took very little thought

I settled upon tennis

(My mum’s favourite sport).

I did have coaching for a while

‘Till I was ready to play

Then I began in Juniors

Early mornings, each Saturday.

Before long, I started Seniors

You’d think I would be stuffed

But I also played midweek, at night

I just couldn’t get enough!

It wasn’t just about the sport

Or matches to be won

We all enjoyed the social side

And sure had lots of fun.  🍺

A few of us played Sunday nights

An indoor comp, we had a ball

That’s where I met my husband

You could say we scored “love all”.  🎾 💑

(We do make a good doubles pair

But have different styles, you know

He has mastered slice and spin

While I slog it, flat and low).

Later, when my kids were little

And I was between jobs

I played some midweek ladies

And soon refined my lobs!

More recent attempts to have a hit

Have caused some consternation

My brain remembers, my muscles do not

The end result is much frustration.  😣

There are many cobwebs to dust off

Before I reignite the passion

But before I play, I’ll need new clothes

My old trackies are out of fashion!

We're Out Of...

My child stares into the pantry

Then turns to me, with a pout

“Hey Mum, look at the (fill in the blanks)

It has pretty much run out”.

“Now what am I going to eat?

Why haven’t you bought more?

I thought you’d have picked some up

You’re forever at the grocery store.”

Hungry child, please have a seat

And listen closely to my story

In my head, there’s no magic list

No household invent-ory.

I really can’t keep track of

Everything that’s running low

So if you don’t communicate

Then how am I to know?

Better yet, you’ve got two legs

The store’s close - you know the way

So you can go get things yourself

(And, yes, I’ll be happy to pay).

Dear child, when things next run out

I won’t be blamed any more

Pretty soon you may find
You're forever at the grocery store!   😉

How are you today?

How is everybody doing?

I have started work on my next post 😀

My Autopilot Brain

The human brain’s a lazy beast

In terms of work, it prefers the least

Given any chance, habits will form

Much less thinking - that’s the norm!

Take my drive to work each day

“How’d I get here?” I often say

I don’t remember turning right

What colour was that traffic light?

And the left turn, way back there

I hope I did that one with care

All those road signs - I paid no heed

Fingers crossed I didn’t speed.

You see, my brain takes a little break

As if the commute’s “a piece of cake”

Believing that there’s nothing to it

Means “autopilot” gets to do it.

Please brain, stay on for common tasks

It’s really not too much to ask

Driving demands more attention

So do other things I’d like to mention.

Stay switched on when I’m going out

So I’m not left to stress about

Whether I’ve locked the front door

Turned off the iron, oven, and more.

And, wherever I go, when I get there

Come on - show a bit more care

Lift your game, please, raise the bar

So I can recall if I’ve locked the car!

Dear brain, don’t worry or despair

Just work a bit harder, it’s only fair

For now though, I will call it a day
I've forgotten what else I was going to say!