Shouts From Down Under

My mother...Every day was costly, and all done for us.

I admire my mum. This is the woman I dedicated a poem to, and I'm not fond of writing poetry; I'd rather write a story anyday.

STATIC

My Mum The Quiet Achiever  (E) A tribute to the one who nurtured, supported, befriended. #1933161 by Sparky

So, what has she done that is so special, you might wonder?

For the past week I've been blogging in my mum's office that she doesn't use that much these days, and never uses it at all for her professional work any more. She's well and truly retired.

Last time I was in this office, I couldn't help but notice the books she had on the shelf. The diplomas on the top shelf. The little plaques (not the dentistry type) of advice and humour hanging around, the mug of pens and pencils on the desk with another joke, a work joke on it.

Her equipment isn't the latest in here. There is a seperate photocopier (thermal), seperate printer (thermal) a spare monitor with no PC, it's a laptop, a huge filing cabinet, another cabinet with those small drawers that have card / label slots on the front.

Sounds ordinary I suppose.
Well, I'm proud to say, my mum is no ordinary mum. And far from ordinary woman.

She worked as a book keeper for many years, and not for the best pay either.
That's because she gave up study time for us children on the farm.

She also spent many years working with special needs children, helping them to ride horses, training the horses, and training the trainers to train the horses for the special needs children to ride. I've learned what a registered whip is. You can look it up yourself, but I couldn't find the exact term on Google. It's to do with lunge whipping I believe.

So, it wasn't until she was 65 years old, that she obtained her Degree as an Accountant.
Obtaining a Degree is one thing. But her life seems to have been in reverse. A Degree is just a bit of paper, right?

Well, what about the experience to back up that Degree?

Let's have a squint at what books there are on these here shelves. Oh, by the way, my mum was also a farmer's wife. I forgot to add that little bit of info. I mean, surely that wouldn't take much? Just a bit of looking after the old man?

Hmm, whatcha look see at these here tomes, what do we have? Some are folders. Some are big thick books. Some are boxes of computer program disks.

Corporate Financial Statements.
Accounting. (Clarke)
Using Financial Statements (Kenley)
"Why Don't People Listen?" (Mackay)
The Australian Commercial Dictionary
The Maquarie Consice Dictionary of Modern Law
Business Law
Civil Claims Practices
The Profitable Practice

Then, there is an excercise book (School type Ancol) with Rule Book on it and the words Shorthand 1968

Auditing Principles (Stettler)
Computer Auditing
Accountants Computer Handbook
Drive Safe
Warrior's Wisdom
Work Smarter - Not Harder (Collis)
Real Estate Accounting (Keats)
Conveyancing Manual for New South Wales (Bryant)
Country Web
There Is A Life After Farming
Grape Benchmarking Report
Marketing Australia & New Zealand

And wait for this one...

Duties and Responsiblities of Secretaries and Company Directors in Australia (ISCA)
The Law and Procedure at Meetings (Joske)
Company Meetings (Davidson)
How to do just about anything in Microsoft Word (Readers Digest)
Windows 95 Module II

A bunch of spiral notebooks follow, then;

Small and Micro Business Occupational Health and Safety
Phoenix
MYOB Business Basic
The Australian Writers Marketplace
Microsoft Office Proffessional Edition 2003

Looking across the top shelf I spy the following awards and certificates.

Royal First Aid
Outstanding Customer Service Finalist (Her accounting business name follows)
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training
Senator Fiona Nash National Senator of New South Wales Award in honour of your selection for "Australians in Profile" for your support of the Riding For the Disabled 2006
University of Sydney Advanced Diploma of Farm Management
Warrumbungle Shire Council 2005 Senior Citizen of the Year
Pearl Batchelor Volunteer of the year 2010
2010 Orana / Far West Volunteer of the year

My mum doesn't like to talk for too long. She'd rather read. She likes company, it's not that, but she has her limit.

So, I sit here and think about the respect I hear and see in the townsfolk of Coonabarabran, and wonder how I could be anything like her. I'm approaching middle age with not much to show for it.

But, you know it occurs to me, that a lot of this stuff, my mum, our mum, did after I was born. From about my age onwards.

Maybe there's still time left, to say less, and do more.

My brother and sister would agree when I say I respect this country woman, this horse riding senior citizen, this farmer's wife, this Bush Fire Brigade volunteer, treasurer and secretary, this school bus driving workaholic.

Yes, she used to drive the school bus, a Toyota Coaster, with a holden engine in it, which fell out one day. True story. We had just crossed a cattle grid, and next thing the bus stops and won't even crank. We lifted the lid which was between the seats and there it was, the whole engine sitting down on the road as if it too was sulking, and didn't want to go to school, any more than we did.

There are a stack of little stories I could tell, but that's me talking. AGAIN.

How about I head off to bed a bit earlier, like she advised tonight, saying,

"You need a good nights sleep, son."

Thanks Mum. Thanks for everything you've done in life to help others, help their children, help them in their business, help them protect their farms and businesses from fire, and help drive their kids to school.

Thanks most of all, for loving us enough to be decent. To be a loyal wife and mother who gave us a whipping if we needed it.

Yes, we needed it.



Speaking of bush fires. This below was taken today.



Brings back memories of last year's atomic mushroom cloud over the mountains.



Sparky