In the last week, the faux winter has ended and a real one has begun. We have had blasting icy winds and generally cold days, with the odd frost thrown in. My winter garden is strewn with leaves and fallen clusters of twig from the many trees that comprise it. Soon I will have to take down the old acacia at the front and the remains of the dead nicolai at the back. Both were planted when I first bought this property. To be honest, I never expected to be back here to witness their demise. But I am, at least for the meantime.

I find the times when I don't have Tom to be quite difficult. The house is empty and quiet and while I generally like my own company, being alone is something I would rather choose than have chosen for me. Added to that is the fact that I miss my son. We get along quite famously most times and whilst he is sometimes demanding, this is but a tiny complaint. He is improving at football (soccer) and this week attended an AFL clinic at school. He is also enrolled in jazz and tap dancing classes and seems to enjoy this variety, though he complains about the reduced playday opportunities.

I don't have any specific memory of the playday from my youth. We generally went cycling, played cricket or football in the park or hunted through the surrounding bushland without any need for parents to organise anything. It just happened. There really wasn't anything else to do. It was common too to walk to the shops to buy the afternoon papers and grab a bag of lollies. Twenty cents bought a fat fistful of joy that lasted through to dinner.

It was just much easier to do stuff then. But then, there was no internet or personal computers, nor mobile phones or VCRs. Sure we had record players (generally one per household) and cassettes were becoming popular. Not a single game console graced the confused decor of the seventies lounge room. And four TV stations were all we got.

I'm sure the generation before mine could weigh in with an even more austere selection. We all make our fun. I hope that Tom's cohort can get the balance right.