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January 22, 2009

My parents neglected me.

I found out last night that my parents are planning a trip to Australia.  Another one.  I haven't counted how many times they've gone to Australia because... the idea of it is just... too... too painful to think about.

>sniff<

Sorry, I got some cat hair up my nose.

You see, when I was a child, my parents abandoned my siblings and me with "friends of the family" while they loaded up their tucker bags and went Waltzing Matilda to the wonders of Down Under.

They were only gone for a couple of weeks, but time passes very slowly for a child.  I pictured them snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and walking in the tracks of dinosaurs.  I missed them, but what was more upsetting was knowing all the fun they were having without me.

When they came back, they brought me a boomerang, a nice big hat, and a book by Enid Blyton. A small token in an attempt to alleviate their guilt, no doubt.  The book was a great read, but I never figured out what it had to do with Australia.

I know they loved me, but deep down inside, I think they loved Australia even more.

>sniff<

Sorry.  More cat hair.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

FYI we've only been to Australia once, and only to Sydney and Canberra. So, we haven't been to the reef yet. That will of course be rectified when we visit you in your new digs in Hamilton!
And, by the way, we were only in Australia for two weeks because I felt guilty leaving you and your brother and sister. That's a heck of a long way to go for two weeks. I must have been crazy.
Enid Blyton....really? I don't remember bringing that back from Australia.
See you down under!!!
Love, Mom

Jennybell said...

Have you ever read David Sedaris' book When You're Engulfed In Flames? There's a chapter about his parents going on vacation that reminds me of this, except his parents apparently left him and his siblings with some stranger.
My cousing and his partner are taking an anniversary trip to Australia and New Zealand! They go to all kinds of awesome places!

dogsled_stacie said...

My parents took off all the time on us!!! They did a huge European trip and left us in Toronto with relatives. Which was great fun.

LOL at your mom telling you what REALLY happened!!! :)

Matt, Kara, Hunter and Cavan said...

My parents left us for a few weeks to go to Mexico. Parents are evil.

Anonymous said...

My goodness, that brings back memories. Not Australia, of course, because I've never been. But Enid Blyton. When I first started reading chapter books, they were Oui-Oui. I loved the series as a kid.

Anonymous said...

Hey, "family friend" here. I remember that that the side door window broke "mysteriously" on its' own. Then the fridge died. And then there was the "mysterious fumes" incident. It was -28 when your parents returned and your Mom was frozen. Didn't she bring a boomerang back? One that you actually used?

Meandering Michael said...

Hi Colleen,

The door never broke mysteriously on its own (and we never said it did at the time). The window on the door broke when MY BROTHER and his friend locked me out of the house in freezing temperatures and I knocked to be let back in. The seal must have been damaged on the window, or something like that, because it was your standard, run-of-the-mill, everyday knocking when the window broke. It was a frightening experience! I could have been hurt!

As for the mysterious smell, that was all the doing of MY BROTHER, the haphazard scientist.

I totally don't remember the fridge dying, so if it didn't just die on it's own, it must have had something to do with MY BROTHER.

I never used the boomerang (that must have been MY BROTHER). Mine still holds a place of reverence, on display in my home.

Peter Tyrrell said...

Which Enid Blyton book? My mom had a secret stash at the top of the closet. She used to toss me one as a reward every so often.

Meandering Michael said...

It was a "three books in one" with "The Island of Adventure", "The Castle of Adventure", and "The Valley of Adventure". Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Anne, Jack and Kiki the parrot sure had a lot of adventures!

Eni said...

Talking of a book by Blyton, I am glad to inform you that I have written and published a book on Enid Blyton, titled, The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage (www.thefamousfiveapersonalanecdotage.blogspot.com).
Stephen Isabirye