The golden days of summer have arrived.
The days begin with daybreak over a kind of stage filled with possibilities. A day on the water in your boat, walking languidly on the jetty, bobbing along in your favourite orange inflatable pool toy….
But of course, don’t forget the sunscreen on your way out. This SPF 50+ from Avene is pricey, (around $35 at Chemist Warehouse) but it so easy to blend into your skin and doesn’t irritate it. Most importantly, however, it’s been highly effective on my pasty, sun naive skin. Plus its orange bottle against the chambray of my favourite summer pull-on skirt? It’s an Instagram worthy snapshot of my summer wardrobe right there.
Summer weekends in Sydney are as much about the journey as the destination. I get a smile on my face with a hint of smugness around the eyes as I edge the car out of the driveway and onto the main road and its traffic with the GPS set for places like the Greenwich Baths as opposed to driving to Westfield or to swimming lessons from memory.
I don’t even mind that I have to concentrate hard to make the correct exits from the tunnel, the right lane as I drive along the Habour Bridge. On days like this, the unfamiliar route and the traffic are exciting rather than onerous.
And then we are There.
Picture perfect skies and the kind of beach that makes you feel like you’re an extra on Home and Away ….
It’s obligatory to accessorize for a morning at the baths with a pie and sauce.
Which you eat as neatly as possible while watching your little guy learn to paddle at a nippers class.
Afterwards, it’s a drive back over the bridge for party #2 for my work Christmas lunch. Meet my long term plus one – no bake lemon cheesecake topped with fresh fruit.
For me it’s an afternoon to kick back with the rest of the department and their families while for Master SSG, it’s another opportunity for a swim. His third for the day.
He ventured beyond the jacuzzi this year and braved the open waters on his own with a kickboard and a bubble floatie.
It’s hungry work swimming all day but that plate of dessert was mine.
I love summer.
