Willbanks' Down Under: 199 + 95 Weeks

It has been a good week, barring one awful incident which I will get into later. The weather has become really quite cold at night but not too bad during the day. We have had a visit to the Mollymook Beach park, which was great because Arley finally is more interested in going on the slide than running into the road. We had morning tea at the farm and Carmie made cupcakes with her Lolo. Carmie has had a good week with no major episodes, and she is very interested in earning pocket money, so she does extra chores around the house, (which actually makes the housework take twice as long, but I am trying to get her into good habits!). I also had the launch of my exhibition at Cupitt's Cellar Door Gallery, and it was a lovely night with a good turnout, however Jeff didn't take any photos for me as he was too busy socialising and getting a private tour of Cupitt's new brewery! I am glad the launch is over and my work is hanging, as now I can focus on other things.

And now for the awful incident. I took Carmie to school on Tuesday morning, and I took Arley too for a little play to get him used to the place before he starts in a few months. In the back yard of the school, they have quite a steep hill, with a play house at the top, and underneath the play house is a tunnel and a giant rabbit hutch. You get from the playhouse to the hutch and the grass below by walking down these two curved ramps, one on each side. I always thought they were a little dangerous, but figured I was being overly cautious. Well, I was talking to the teacher, Julie, and Arley was running down the left ramp, when his right foot went off the side, and he tumbled off the ramp, flipping onto his back and upside down in the process. He was contorted into a little pretzel, and the drop was about 2 feet, with shrubs and large rocks underneath. He was bent backwards so much that we couldn't see his head, which was trapped between a rock and the ramp. All we could see was his little round belly in the air, and one arm. Julie and I raced over, with me screaming "No No No No", and her screaming "How do we get him out???". Standing over him, I couldn't see his head at all, because his little neck was twisted so badly that his head was behind him. He wasn't moving or making any noise. Julie and I both thought his neck was broken. In a panic, I pulled his arm (I know I shouldn't have touched him, but I needed him in my arms!!). He finally cried out, and when I pulled, I saw that he had a flexible branch wrapped around his neck. I unhooked him and got him out, and he screamed hysterically for five minutes flat, and then ran around like nothing was wrong. But it was the worst moment of my life to date. Julie was shaking and has since said that she almost threw up. It was just absolutely awful. I got home and cried my eyes out, but I'm doing better now, and Arley seems fine. The owner of the school is a total flake and simply said that the ramps have never been a problem in her 30 years of being there. But now I am on a mission to get the playground changed, as I can't have Arley start there in July with the ramps still in place. The school is a lovely place, Julie is a fantastic teacher, and Carmie loves it there, so I have to make it safe rather than pull them out. Anyway, that's why little Arley's face is banged up in some of the photos, and I am taking pills to help me sleep at night!

At Mollymook Beach park