We have a tradition that when Monte’s parents visit us, we have a birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays that we have missed and will miss whilst we are apart. It is a way of connecting and celebrating together because it is during the special times, such as birthdays, when we really notice that we are not with family. It is also nice for the children to have a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ together because they rarely get to celebrate birthdays with their grandparents (Georgia celebrated her 8th birthday in Adelaide last year, and had a party with her grandparents and some friends and cousins!).
Tonight, being the last night of Gordon and Maxine’s stay us, we celebrated the birthdays of Monte (December), Maxine (February) and Gordon (May). There was sparkling wine and lemonade too! We don’t know when we will see each other again. We try not to be sad about it; there is still Skype, which we use regularly to keep in touch, but it is always painful to say goodbye, especially after such a nice time together!

a bit of cake and cream never hurt anybody…