Note: I've had this post written for quite some time, but I've been having difficulty adding the pictures. And I'm still having difficulty, but I'm now posting the text anyway. Maybe there will be pictures some day.
This
Easter,
we had the privilege of visiting Echo Station, northwest of Roma, as
guests of
Dave’s Uncle Allen and Aunty Barb, where the cattle roam and the sorghum
grows,
and kangaroos and emus are ordinary sights.
Until now, my Queensland
experience has been confined to
the southeast corner, bordered by Dalby in the west and Maryborough in
the
north. As evidenced by these maps (which I know you can't see yet), Echo can hardly be called ‘far west’,
but at
least it has given this city girl a glimpse into life on the land.
There was no
special occasion for this trip; we simply enjoyed spending time with
family and
being in the beautiful countryside. Thanks to the recent rain,
everything was
green and growing, with grass almost waist high in the paddocks. Uncle
Allen
commented that it hadn’t been this green since 1983. We went to church
at Roma
Presbyterian on Easter Sunday, Dave went out in the ute to check fences
on
Monday, and I discovered that the veranda of the (now unused) shearers’
quarters was a lovely place to go for some quiet prayer and planning
time, but
mostly we stayed close to the house and greatly benefited from a change
of
place and pace. It was great to have lots of family time together.
We were unsure
how the long drives and new environments would go with an
eight-month-old, but
our fears were unfounded. SP began the holiday by sleeping for over two
hours
between Brisbane and Dalby, and continued to be happy and adaptable for
the
vast majority of the trip. He loved having his Grandma around all the
time, as
well as Uncle Allen, Aunty Barb and two of their sons who were home for
the
holidays. Add in two dogs, a cat and a whole lot of outside space… he
was in
his element. He learned to crawl a couple of days before we left, and
had lots
of fun practicing.
I think we had
unknowingly chosen a great age for such a trip. SP’s routine was fairly
stable
and fit easily into the slots of adult life. His growing ability to eat
finger
foods and to enjoy the flavours of adult food in mashed form made
feeding him
easier than it would have been earlier. He particularly enjoyed
leftovers of
Aunty Barb’s lasagne, mashed in the Thermomix, as a nice filling
breakfast on
the morning we set off home.
One of the
things I love about visiting people, particularly women and mothers, is
learning about the ways they organise their lives and their homes. This
trip
was no exception. Aunty Barb has raised five children to adulthood, so
she
knows a thing or two; the household runs like a well-oiled machine. The
house
itself has been lived in for many years, and must have felt small when
it was
full of growing children, but it’s well-organised and functional. Even
in the
few days since we arrived home, I’ve found that thinking of Echo has
helped me
to seek simple solutions to the difficulties I see in our little rental
house.
Something I
particularly noticed was how good everyone was at putting things away as
soon
as they had finished with them. As a result, the house was always tidy,
although never sterile or stifled. I’ve never been very good at picking
up
after myself as I go, and it’s something I’ve been working on recently.
I’d
love our home to be like Echo in that regard.
Uncle Allen
and Aunty Barb’s hospitality is also an inspiration to me. Despite
already having
a house full of guests, they invited a further nine visitors home after
church
on Sunday and produced an enormous and delicious lunch. I sometimes
think that
20 minutes from church to our place is too far to ask people to travel,
so I
don’t invite them. Roma and Echo are about an hour apart, and yet people
travel
happily for the opportunity to have fellowship together. I can learn
from this.
In another
show of hospitality, we have left Echo not only with good memories, but
also
with Lemon Butter and vast amounts of Echo Beef mince and sausages.
Yum!!
I am so
thankful to have had the opportunity to visit this special place, and am
already looking forward to the next trip.
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