Today I'm worrying about what everyone else is doing. It’s the long weekend this weekend because there’s a horse race on: the Melbourne Cup. Bizarre isn’t it that we have a holiday for a horse race? Actually, not everyone has the holiday but most get the first Tuesday in November off, which is always Cup day, and lots get the Monday off too, making it a long weekend.
The holiday is a state thing. If you’re covered by a Victorian workplace agreement, you tend to get the day off, if you’re covered by a federal award you don’t. When I was at university I usually sat an English Literature exam on Cup day.
Traditionally people either go to the Cup, well 100,000 people usually go, or go to a BBQ etc. This year I’m doing neither. I haven’t been to the Cup in decades, the crowds, the obligatory drinking all day (something I could never do) the standing around on grass all day in heels, and the extremes of weather (some years it’s scalding hot, others you get rained out) all combine to make me less than enthusiastic about going.
Previous years I’ve gone to a friend’s barbie- but this year they’ve moved back interstate and so didn’t have the BBQ. I had dinner with these friends on the Friday night, saw them off at the airport on Saturday, and had dinner with another friend on Saturday, then was content with this amount of socializing.
Until I remembered it was Cup Day on Tuesday and I had no invitation to party, anywhere. Inevitably this caused me to start pondering: don’t I have any friends? Well of course I do, just none who are throwing a Cup Day bash. Maybe I need more friends, I also pondered.
When does one stop worrying about how many friends one has? I feel so 15 again.
Hi Stella. We, too, had a quiet one. I had my first baby on Cup Day, 25 years ago. So we've always had a gathering of family and friends on this particular day, to mark the occasion. But this year it was just me and my old man. Felt a bit bereft. Asked my son if he wanted to do something. "If I have to," was his grudging response. Why should he hang around with his oldies to relieve his pathetic mother's boredom anyway? As it happened, had a good day, gardening, like old farts. Was totally unenvious of the noisy party - with kids taking to turns to sook - next door. Glad to be an empty nester. Cheers. Fraudy.
ReplyDeleteFraudster's "If I have to" made me Lol!
ReplyDeleteStella, if I lived near you, and if I wasn't "anon," and had a party, I'd invite you. Except it'd probably be better if we had it at your house since it's bigger. I'd be happy to cook and decorate, and stay over to clean up the next day. I'm good for stuff like that :)
NQ- KK, we can have it at my place. Yeah you can cook and decorate and stay over to clean up the next day too, no worries! Give me a shopping list and I'll go buy the food n' booze.
ReplyDeleteFraudy- I hear that's the joy of kids. . . that grudging attitude.
Makes life easy doesn't it. I don't know why everyone doesn't throw parties when I visit! Lol!
ReplyDelete