Tom came back today after his stint with Nadia. He has been giving her a lot of grief lately and is prone to tantrums if he doesn't get his way. I know how difficult it is for her and I really do feel for her. And I have tried to help when I can and if she asks me. I don't just do it because I love her, which I do, but also because it's right that I do. It's not something that I can just walk away from.

We have another busy time ahead of us and if Tom behaves (which he usually does for me) I hope that we can go to the Bathurst Show and do a lot of father and son things. I enjoy his company and I am rarely lonely when he is around. He still has a big problem with food - he is reluctant to eat anything wholesome. Naturally, icecream, chocolate and biscuits are just fine! I'm hoping that his aversion to school is abating now that second term has arrived, though getting him in the mood will probably be a challenge for some time.

Meanwhile, the wind is howling outside and it feels like winter in mid-autumn. I have observed in the past that the weather is sometimes an apt metaphor for my feelings. Tom is here but my heart has a winter's edge.

Despite the date on this blog, today is Anzac Day. A day of remembrance amongst the thickets of noise that characterizes modern life. It is worth recalling the sacrifice of others, and notwithstanding the generalizations and cliches that inevitably abound on such occasions, it is right for us to do so. Lest we forget.

blades of wind-hunted grass
lithe headstones in bright air
remembering another
earthly cenotaph