Sydney Trip

During the school holidays I went to Sydney with Mum, Kathy and Eila for the Time Out For Women event. Dad had bought me the tickets for it for my birthday. We arrived on the Thursday about lunchtime and had an adventure trying to find the apartment we were staying in. We had to catch 3 trains with all our luggage. Probably not the best move as we had to carry it all up and down stairs. Eventually we got to our last stop and started walking to our hotel. We ended up walking the wrong way and had to stop on the side of a freeway. It was pouring with rain and I ended up calling the hotel to have someone pick us up. It turned out the hotel was only a 1 min walk in the other direction from the train. We were so soaked and tired by the time we got to the hotel. I think the laughs started from there and didn't end until we left to go home. I was glad that we were with such lovely people who enjoyed a laugh as much as me and mum did. We did a bit of shopping on the Thursday and had booked to go on a harbour cruise that night. Well because of the rain we couldn't get a taxi and almost missed the boat. I wasn't feeling that great and couldn't really eat much of my dinner but still enjoyed myself. Friday was another day of shopping and eating. We met Rachel after lunch and saw some sights of the city. By the end of the afternoon I think mum and eila were about ready to crash after so much walking and we eventually found the marriott where we had a nice dinner and lots more laughs! Saturday was the event we were all waiting for. Almost 2000 women gathered together at the Olympic Park for the TOFW. There was so much excitement in the air and I think we all knew we were in for such a wonderful day. It didn't disappoint. The day went by so quickly before we knew it, it was over. I was really touched by the music by Hillary Weeks and look forward to listening to some more of her music. All of the speakers touched me in some way or another. It was like they were feeding my spirit with all the things I needed to hear. I am ready to make some changes to make the next 6 months of this year better. 2 Quotes in particular that stood out to me was 'Don't be the one thing standing in your way" and "Take time to stand still and hold your children a little longer" They are only children for such a short time and then they will be adults for the rest of eternity. I came out of the conference feeling like I was doing a good job but there are still lots of improvements I could make in my life and the life of my family. I felt really uplifted. Normally when I hear about what I should be doing and so forth I get down about the type of person I am but during this experience I felt like I was doing ok and I felt like I have the strength to be a better person without getting the negative feelings I usually get. It was great to share the experience with such close friends and family. Only wish more of my loved ones could have shared it with me. I hope I can continue to develop and grow into the wife, mother, daughter and friend that I am supposed to be.