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December started with Saint Nicholas celebrations. Luckily, oma Bep had wrapped up all presents, which we unwrapped in the evening of 6 December. Traditionally, we did that in the morning, but kids are getting older, have different school starting times and cherish their sleep-ins. In the run up to Sinterklaas, the kids put out their shoes near the fireplace and got their advent calendars (with one chocolate per day until Christmas).
Piet and dad put up the signs for the scouts Christmas tree sale like prior years. The sale is near a dog park, which Piet strongly disliked in the past. He copes much better with dogs now, but Juliana is still edgy about them, although she has never been as bad as Piet was. At home, the kids helped mum decorate our own tree - not a natural one, which comes in handy if we are away for part of December like most years.
We were delighted with the kids getting awards at school. Juliana received a medal for her achievements in English, Piet received his dux award, while Emma was recognised for strong academic performance. In the Netherlands, calling out high performing pupils is unheard of, but it has been the norm at our primary and secondary schools. Piet and Juliana will start their last year at their current school in 2025.
No birthday has been looked forward to as much as Juliana's 11th birthday. In line with Dutch social conventions, she received her own mobile phone, passed down from her sister, who got her dad's, who got a new one (an iPhone 13). Appropriately, mum's cake reflected the mobile phone theme. Juliana is not into birthdays, not organising her own party and even skipping a friend's party, as she feels socially awkward as such events, as she articulates it.
Snorkling with seals
As most of us had not had a vacation all year, we had booked an outing to Narooma on the NSW South Coast, where we rented an
Airbnb house for three nights. The main event for going out on a boat to Montague island, which hosts a permanent seal colony. We got our
wetsuits and flippers on, while Piet and
Emma also got
scuba diving gear. While surfing is a national sport, we actually rarely wear wetsuits and hence it took us a while to get into the rented ones. The
boat
ride took ten minutes. Underwater visibility was perfect. We could swim to the seals, who let us approach them within meters and who often swam beneath us. It was amazing. Dad especially like the big seals swimming underneath. The second swim for Piet and Emma was snorkeling, which actually gave them a better view of the seals!
We went out for dinner, walked around town from our central location, tried a climbing frame, observed some seals on a pier near the harbour and enjoyed the views. The second day, we rented e-bikes from the shop opposite our house, a first time for all of us. We rode along the coast to Dalmeny for an icecream. We had no complaints about the (modest) effort required.
Bendoc
After three nights, Piet drove on to Bendoc. He did a theoretical exam after his 16th birthday, which allows him to drive a car with "L" signs, provided an adult driver with full license sits next to him. This is typically dad. He has nearly done his 120 hours of practice driving, which allows him to go for a practical driving test once he is 17.
At Bendoc, we were pleased to meet opa in a much stronger physical shape that most of us had seen him last. The kids helped, somewhat reluctantly, with trimming the long hedge. It was much easier this year after a big trimback last year. Dad concentrated on thistles in the yards and paddocks, while mum helped Lum prepare the Christmas lunch, while the kids helped with the gingerbread house.
Cutting the Omneo gum tree branch was a communal affair. The kids unwrapped their stocking presents in late morning - how long will we continue this? We had had no energy to put up the fly tent for a single day, but flies were too numerous to eat outside. The kitchen fitted the seven of us for lunch. We unwrapped the remaining presents found under the gum tree branch afterwards. Us five posed for a Christmas greeting picture, played outside in the oak tree (which mum used to jump over when she was young) and on the swing, but especially spent a lot of time on our phones (Piet and Emma) or book (Juliana).
Canberra
To break our return to Sydney, we stayed two nights at Lum's. She has three bedrooms, so we can squeeze in. After
dinner, the adults enjoy the cool Canberra evening, eldest two were on their phones, while Juliana read.
Being the capital, there is a lot to do in Canberra, and unlike the kids, we were not thinking phones and books. Hence the next day, we visited to a National Geographic photo-of-the-year exhibition and went to the free sculpture garden, where the best piece was a snake eating its own tail, which we could walk into. We topped it off with cake and a park with a long slide in nearby Corin Forrest.
Text updated throughout 1st January 2025
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