good day

Today, as you may have guessed, was a good day.  My friend M paid a flying visit to Perth, and we got to catch up.

M lives in the eastern states, with her three adorable children under four, her parents down the road, and her raving maniac ex-husband always lurking in the periphery of her life.  She finally split up with him at the end of last year, when she was three months’ pregnant with their third child.  Since then, her ex has done so many really awful things that I can’t list them here.  Suffice it to say that she has been advised by three separate professionals in the Family Court system to go to a women’s shelter, with the kids, so that she was safe.  Despite all this, she is happier and more at peace than I have ever seen her before.  The kids are happy and feel safe at home now, and she’s doing really well as a single mother of three.

We picked her up at 11am, and brought her back here for a deluxe barbeque lunch.  I also invited my little brother over, so it was just the four of us.  My brother was meant to leave at 1:30 but ended up staying an hour longer, he was enjoying himself so much.  I must say, the food was so good - steak and sausages, garlic potato bake, garden salad and bean salad.  Add in a delicious butter cake with chocolate icing, and it was just fantastic.

So basically, between 11am and 4pm, we ate, drank, reminisced, and had a great time.  It was like she’d never left.  I know that she’s better off near her parents, especially with the kids being so little, but I do miss her, and she misses Perth. 

I’m so glad that her life is on a more even keel now.  She’s a lovely person, and so optimistic, despite all she’s been through.  But I miss her so much.