(34) RITE OF PASSAGE

In a blink of an eye, your children grow up from babes in arms to little girls going to school.

This morning Mya crept into my room for her morning cuddles, with no school today, we dozed back to sleep.

The next thing I was woken by excited shouting:

"MUM, MUM MY TOOTH!!!!!!!!!!".

Her wobbly tooth had finally fallen out. Her very first baby tooth is being pushed out by a giant adult tooth. So modeling is out of he question for a few years now..... a gorgeous gap has found it's way into her perfect set of front teeth.

Yes, our little girl is growing up. 6 years old in 18 days time (14th November)!!

The note from the tooth fairy read: (in pink of course!!)

Dear Mya,

Well done! You have given me your first beautiful baby tooth. It's very white, thank you!!

Every good white tooth you loose I will give you $1. But because this is your first I will give you $10 to buy your mum and dad a present.

Lots of love from the tooth fairy. XXXXXXX

(33) THE CAR'S GONE!!!! CALL THE POLICE!!!!

There's nothing quite like the sinking feeling when your car is stolen. But you CAN'T steal a BMW. It's nigh on technically impossible.

BUT..... here's the story to defy all odds. The heading should really have been "IT'S MURPHY'S LAW".

Yesterday afternoon after visiting the possible Assisted Living Unit that mum might be moving into, we came home and I was pretty tired, so I invited mum to lay down beside me on my double bed to chat about how she felt about this "out of the blue" care option. I said to mum I'll take the car for a wash (it had been sitting in the driveway for 3 weeks whilst I was in Singapore), and I'll fill it with fuel." She convinced me to do it after I pick up Mya from school because I was so tired.

We went and did some shopping instead and I went upstairs to unload the shopping from the car, and mum followed slowly behind me negotiating the 16 steps from the driveway to her front door. I went back outside to pick up Mya from school and the driveway was empty.

Oh what a sinking feeling. I just stopped in my tracks, not being able to beleive someone could have:
A) stolen a BMW and
B) been watching us so carefully that they took the car in a virtual blink of an eye.

I ran back inside and confirmed with mum that I wasn't going crazy, that the car was stolen. I was so convinced it couldn't have been that I thought through the only possible scenario.....
That perhaps I'd left it unlock (most unlikely for me to do ) and that someone had opened the door rolled it down the hill and put it on a tray truck. This came to mind becuase one night, years ago, someone had actually opened dad's car, rolled it down the hill, but didn't have a truck. he was so drunk he left his wallet in the car and the police enjoyed returning it to him and arresting him for the theft. But in this case, there was no car to be seen down the hill.

Luckily the car was not full of our things as it had been the day before. It only had Mya's booster seat, her tennis racket and Mum's glasses. Mum's glasses would have been the hardest to replace, as she would have had to go and get her eyes retested and wait for new glasses - something she doesn't need right now.

I retuned inside and called Mya's school Principal to put her into Emergency After Care until I had called the police and got to school to pick her up later.

I then realsied to my horror, that because the car was a "loan car" from BMW, and I'd been away from Melbourne for 3 weeks and in that time had had two different cars with different registrations in Singapore, I in fact didn't have a clue what the registration number of the car was. So what was I going to do, call the police and say "I've just had my car stolen and all I can tell you is that it is a Blue - if I rememebr correctly - and its' a BMW. They might have sent the Alzheimer's unit instead of Police Investigators.


So I rang Pam who had loaned me the car to find out the registration number so I could call the police.... Pam was in a meeting with all the staff from that department. I explained to the operator how urgent it was to get the details so I can call the police. the operator had the presence of mind to get my details and go to the meeting and ask Pam to call me.

In the short time it took for Pam to call back, I went through a hundred scenarios of what could have happened.. and nothing really worked!

Pam rang back and says. 'MIRANDA THE CAR IS NOT STOLEN, WE SOLD IT AND CAME TO COLLECT IT. WE THOUGHT YOU WERE STILL IN SINGAPORE AND JUST TOOK IT AS WE'D AGREED BEFORE YOU LEFT."

Mum and I just hugged eachother. We'd been to hell and back. Murphy's law was that I'd rung Pam earlier in the day to let her know we were back and she wasn't there, so I had left a message on her answering machine, but because she was in a meeting she hadn't heard it to know I was in Melbourne.


Arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Can you imagine if I had known the registration number and got through to the Police, Lorrainne or Belinda who drove the car away to take back to headquarters, might have been arrested for robbery!

Oh MY!!!!! How embarrased would I have been.... almost as embarrased as giving back a dirty car with an empty fuel tank. But as someone rightly pointed out - I didn't give it back, they 'stole' back their own car!!!

Today the ladies brought me a new car, we laughed and laughed. We can laugh now, but not yesterday. . . Oh well, my hair is a lot greyer today, and in the end apart from a good dose of adrenalin shooting through Mum's and my system, no harm was done.

Everyone at school had heard the earlier part of the story that the car was stolen, and today they were all curious to know what had happened. I told them the car was stolen, but the "theives" replaced it with a cleaner, bigger and lighter coloured one - complete with, car booster seat, tennis racket, Mum's glasses and a full tank of fuel. Weren't they considerate... Heee heee heee

(32) HOW'S MUM?

Everyone who sees mum says how well she looks. Yes she's only 40 kilos, but she's beaming (please don't let me jinx her by saying this) but you can not tell she has cancer.

Two days after her heart attack ( the week before I left for Singapore), she came home from the hostel where she ws staying so we could all get some respite, to do some things, found the phone wasn't working to call a taxi, so she crossed our road (only an 8 lane highway!!) to catch the bus up to the shopping centre to the taxi stand to go back to her hostel. AMAZING!!!!! NOT ONLY THE PHYSICAL EXCERTION BUT THE PRESENCE OF MIND to get out of a difficult predicament.

Mum has defied all odds, being given 1-3 months to live after the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in April…and now she is in her 6th month with no pain, no medication and feeling stronger every day. She is still a very frail 40 kgs., but she rests as soon as she feels tired.

A meeting was arranged to discuss future plans – the Palliative Care cousellor and the Aged Care representatives from Strathdon were in attendance along with Mum, Loretta and myself.

Mum stated that she had used the time in respite to think about some possibilities about her retaining her independence within her own home in the near future.

The conclusion reached at the meeting was that there are 3 distinct scenarios:

1) Mum can stay at her home in Doncaster with extra support for the next 5 weeks, then there will be a review. Miranda and I could then go home. But this presumes all remains well but it lacks no plan for a worst case scenario, so we would not feel relaxed or that things are really in order.

2) This scenario is that she remains in her house……….. BUT!! If and when she gets sick again, Palliative Care will step in and will send her to hospital...the hospital will then put her into a "transition ward" until THEY find her a place in a nursing home. That really means that she has to accept whatever they find for her, and wherever that may be - Bendigo or Altona or anywhere within Victoria...... I think that really shook Mum up. She looses her choices and independence immediately she deterirates. We then have to fly back and get her out of that situation into something closer and more palletable.

3) The Aged Care staff from Strathdon dropped a (good) bombshell – it was an unexpected offer of an Independent Living Unit. They have a NEW 2 bedroom unit which will become available on the 1st November at the Uniting Church Community at Strathdon in Forest Hills. It has a laundry shower, full kitchen, dining and lounge area.

This means mum can have 24 hour emergency nursing support, as well as a continuation of the cleaning, shopping, outings and showering assistance for up to 4 hours a week. She can cook her own meals, or they could bring in something from the neighbouring hostel if she wanted. It is on the second level but there are no stairs as you enter from street level. It’s situated on a corner, so she gets light from the front and the side, and a balcony overlooking a quiet court and all their lovely gardens. There’s even a car parking spot for her visitors!

There are 3 types of assistance on the same site at Strathdon (Independent Living, the Hostel, then the Nursing Home) which means she would graduate to higher care if needed without having to change premises or staff or lose her new neighbours. Mum has been using the services of Strathdon for 7 years now and thereare lots of people/staff/case managers who already know her very well and care about her. This is looking good! Nick is only 10 minutes away, and most friends who can drive will find it very easy to visit her as the site is just off Springvale Road. 15 minutes from her present home.

Yesterday we were invited to view a similar unit to the one being offered to mum – Thelma, a lovely lady, welcomed mum into her own neighbouring unit and showed her around. It was lovely. They hit it off immediately. They were both standing in the sunshine on the balcony and having a chat. Thelma put her arm around mum’s shoulder and stated quietly that they were a very close little group with lovely people in the 8 units and they looked out for each other. She then said “I think that you will fit in very nicely here Melpo, and I hope that you decide to come here.” Loretta and I were overwhelmed by this lovely exchange, and we both burst into tears.

The reality is that we both realise how much pressure we’ve been under by wanting mum to be safe and comfortable and to have long term solutions in place before we go back to our real lives.

Last night we all slept well - even Mya (but that might be because she is having daily swimming lessons! hahaha) but Loretta, Mum and I slept well and I think it is that we feel contentment that there is a possible solution where everyone is happy - mum has her independence, she is surrounded by people who are lucid and mobile like her and we are sure she is safe and cared for. So maybe there is a happy ending to this story afterall.

We are going to look at the actual hostel on Thursday, but mum is already deciding what furiniture she is taking with her and what she will be buying for her new 2 bedroom home - vwith a great view!! that 80% is looking like 100%.

When Brett came to visit her today I asked her if I can tell him about the possible move- she said "Yes of course" and she was so enthusiastic telling him, that I think she is very happy with her decision. Well I can say I'm feeling relieved, let's hope it all falls into place as it has so far, being offered Strathdon is a godsend.

She has so many people she knows who work in the main Aged Care complex who can pop in for afternoon tea, or meals after work, she'll have her friends and best of all Loretta and I can stay in her the 2nd bedroom whenever we return to visit, as there won't be a family home to bunk into.

Lots of prayers Please everyone.... Mum calls herself Lazarus, as she has all but returned from the dead twice now! Maybe this is the reason she's still alive, she's going to feel very loved and secure and enjoy her last days in a happy warm and friendly environment, and happy that her daughters can return to their normal lives after spending 9 months of 2007 in Melbourne. She was feeling very guilty that she had uprooted our lives. We wouldn't have had it any other way.

If mum were to stay in her home Mya and I were leaving straight after George's November visit to celebrate his and Mya's birthday in Melbourne. Now Mya and I will stay till mid December.

Effectively we have 6 working weeks to shift and settle mum and tittivate the family home of 37 years in preperation for sale. It's an emotional time ahead for all concerned... but we're used to that the whole year has been like that.

(31) BACK TO AUSTRALIA

You've seen Mya in her Singapore Airline costume.... Well she always flies in it - even when on other airlines (just to rub it in). But here's a photo that we took on the plane leaving Singapore coming back to Australia. And guess what, a friend of mine who is pretty high up in Singapore Airlines has asked for the photo and a story to put in their magazine. Mya always wanted to have her face in a magazine - I told her she had to wait until she could take orders before she could do modeling - I'll keep it a secret from her until we get a copy.

“Welcome aboard Little Sister, will you be helping us today?”

On a flight from Singapore to see her grandmother in Melbourne, Mya Rowlands
joins the crew in welcoming other passengers on board.

When Miranda and George Rowlands flew to Vietnam to finally pick up their adopted 3 month old daughter, they were delighted when Singapore Airlines surprised them with an upgrade to row 1 for their return flight to Singapore where they needed to stop to arrange on-going visas. Little Mya’s new dad jokingly advised her not to use her first airplane flight experience as a bench mark and expect this class of travel nor this level of service for the rest of her life.


She has been very lucky to experience many flights on Singapore Airlines since then, and has always enjoyed their wonderful friendly service. Her family always prefers Singapore Airline and agrees it is the best airline in the world… by far.



They now reside in Singapore and Mya’s father flies so often that Mya once asked him at Changi Airport “Is this your second office Dad?”



George Rowlands bought Mya her outfit at Changi Airport. Mya proudly wears her Singapore Airline look-alike uniform whenever and wherever she flies, and even when she goes to Changi Airport to pick up her father.



Mya will be 6 years old in November. She has lived in 5 countries, held 3 passports, travelled to 14 different countries - many of them several times. To say she is well travelled is an understatement.

Mya and her brother Brett have a running competition as to who has visited more countries. At the moment Brett is ahead by ??, but he does have a 22 year age advantage!

Apart from her mother, father and brother, her travelling companion is Felix Rabbit, a soft toy who travels in the little red travel case (see photo). Felix is from a series of books and he has many travel adventures - somewhat like Mya, his owner. They watch Krisworld together and play quietly on the long flights. Felix has his own home made laminated passport that Miranda Rowlands made, similar to Mya’s Australian Passport. It gets stamped at Immigration points around the world when staff are friendly enough to give a toy rabbit an entry stamp – "just for the record". Felix is usually planted on the Immigration desk for identification, Mya smiles at the officer and then the passport gets stamped. ...The irony on this flight was that Felix wasn't IDed , and thank goodness, as he was at home in Singapore and Mya had her stuffed pet dog Baby Rusty in her suitcase instead. So probably a million border rules were broken .

Singapore Changi Airport Immigration staff thought she looked so cute as a mini Singapore Airline crew member, that they let us go through the "CREW ONLY" queue..

Even Melbourne airport staff stamped Felix's passport WHICH IS AMAZING as they are globally renowned for their grumpiness.... but on this occasion they all melted, came over to Mya to get a close up look at the little mini flight crew member, and she was out of the airport in no time.....


Not only does she fly the flag for Singapore Airlines, but Mya is a miniature Ambassador for Singapore. She has worn the uniform on several National and Multi-cultural Days where school children have been asked to wear and parade their National Costume.

Mya and her family have adopted Singapore as their home and hope to become permanent residents there.



When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she vacillates between being a magazine model, a captain or crew member on Singapore Airlines or an astronaut. Choosing any of these options she’s bound to be flying many more miles with Singapore Airlines. When you ask her parents what they’d like to do, their answer is to one day fly their family “a class above first” in the new A380.

(30) BACK HOME IN SINGAPORE AND LOVING IT

Old friends from Jakarta days,
Jazmina on left and Mya on right, catching
up after 5 years.

************************************************

From Left, Betty, Miranda, Sanrda and Janice. Three of the nicest ladies
you would want to take on your Quilting trip to Japan.

From Left, Betty, Miranda, Sandra and Janice. Three of the
nicest ladies you would want to take on your Quilting trip to Japan.
Well we are back home in Singapore until the 19th of October and Mya and
I are just so settled, happy and relaxed.


Initially I ran around
looking at a number of school options for Mya for next year. We eventually
settled on the Australian International School not because we are Australian but
because it was the best school for our needs. Mya will be on an Australian
School calendar (January - December) unlike the majority of schools in Singapore
which are September to July. She will be studying the International
Baccalaureate curriculum which means she will have a transferable curriculum in
most countries around the world. Talking friends here whose children have done
it they all say it makes them more "well-rounded" and with a good score, can get
into university in most countries in the world.



The George left
for a week in Korea. And I started enjoying meeting up with my friends, first
the ones from the English Language course I did at the British Council and then
George's colleagues from work, my quilting friends and this Sunday it will be
all my Singapore family - 8 of my sisters.


Brett will be leaving
South Africa on Friday and staying with us for a few days before returning to
Australia. Nothing more heartbreaking than a broken heart - but hopefully we can
help him heal and move with life. We are so excited, we're like kids. We haven't
told Mya that her brother is coming - she will be sooooo thrilled. They have a
very special bond thanks to our time in England when Brett was working in London
and he would come and stay with us on his days off.


We had the best
time in Singapore. Family days, joined by Brett our son - Mya's favourite (and
only - hahaha) brother. Sleep overs and play dates for Mya, special days with
her brother. For me, days of friendships and relationships renewed. It's home
and we are looking forward to returning and settling down to normal life in our
country of choice. We are going to apply for our permanent residency soon.

Mya attended a temporary school which was the one I was trying to get
her into 2 years ago - and it was fantastic. Lorna Whiston pre-school was just
so friendly - when I dropped Mya in the morning she was happy as a bunny, and I
would always leave happier than I arrived. How good is that? Unfortunately it
only takes children t0 6 years of age. After going to visit many schools. Mya
and George and I decided the Australian school would be her next school. It runs
and international baccalaureate programme which will hold her in good stead for
her future as it is above most school standards. her place is not guaranteed,
there are 15 on teh wait list for her year alone. Singapore is however a hugely
mobile population with expats and anytime there may be a sudden move out of the
country. With rents doubling, tripling and quadrulping, many comapnies and
families cannot sustain the rent hikes and people are choosing to leave. So who
knows...? Anyway Lorna Whiston school has said they'll keep Mya there (even
though she'll be over aged) until a place becomes available at the Australian
school How fantastic is that. All bases covered. So a very successful trip back
to Singapore.

The gorgeous Rachelle, George, Andrea and Fen in the back, with
Brett and I in front.