Friday, December 24, 2010

The Real Meaning Of The Season

...continuing on from Part One (which is actually the post BELOW this, thanks to the chronological stacking of the blog structure):

Around the same time that my friends came to visit, we also had a visit from my Dad and his partner, who had come down all the way from Queensland in their trusty 4WD. They live further away from us than my friends do, so you can imagine how frequently we don't get to see them!

Dad's visit was very much appreciated. We caught up, shared Christmas gifts, went out for lunch, took photos, and sampled Licorice Sherbet Bombs (which apparently aren't available in Queensland; my Dad actually made a point of calling into the factory while in the state, and bought a 2kg bag full of them!

They only got to apend about a week in the area before they had to drive back up, so they spent most of that time running around visiting everybody. My sister and I really only got to see them for about half a day all up, and then it was time for them to move on to the next destination.

It didn't matter too much though, because we all knew that they made the most of the time they had, and we appreciated it very much.

...A few days later, my phone rings at work. It's my sister: "Has Dad called you yet?"

It turned out, she'd just spoken to him on the phone; the day before, Dad and his partner were on their way back home, and while on the highway somewhere in New South Wales, they had collided with another vehicle at high speed.
The impact rolled their 4WD and made it a write-off; luckily for them, they both avoided serious injury, and were able to walk away, and their insurance meant that they still got a ride home (by plane this time).

It was an incredibly lucky thing that they both survived - I can't even imagine how I would feel if they had been seriously injured, or worse.
It makes me - us, my sisters and the rest of the family too - appreciate the time we had and have together.

Take care this season, folks.

1 comment:

caf said...

Scarey beyond words!!!
I'm so glad to hear they're ok!
*hugs*