Trying to be an eco-mum on a budget

There were many things I missed about Sydney while I was living overseas. Having returned though, I realise that the Sydney I left as a single person, is not the Sydney that I have come back to as a mother of two. I thought I would be back enjoying cafe culture, the theatre, art galleries, art-house movies, dinner and drinks with friends, picnics, bushwalks and camping.

Before moving, Tim and I were regular bushwalkers and that is one of the amazing things about Sydney – in that there are so many places so close to the CBD that you can enjoy.  We are spoilt for choice, so it was with great excitement that I returned to Australia and the Australian bush.

But going on a bushwalk is another adventure when you have a  1 and 4 year old and children that have grown up in an apartment and are just getting used to a house and having a backyard.  As you may have seen from an earlier post, actually getting out for 10 minutes by myself is a BIG achievement and having more or less abandoned my walks at night, I have for the last two Saturdays gone for a little walk in the morning. The first time I stuck by the road, but yesterday I saw a sign to a bushwalk and I thought ‘what the hey, let’s go for it’.

The path took me down by Stringybark Creek. Though surrounded by residential development, the hum of the traffic receded to the background as the sound of whipping birds and the trickle of the creek got louder. The smell of the leaves and the earth took hold of me and I was so happy!  This walk is so close to me, which says something about Sydney too. People may grumble about this City, but I don’t know many places where I can walk out of my house and catch a bus and be in the City within 15 minutes or go for a bushwalk just 5 minutes away.

I’ve wanted to introduce Jayden to the bush and I’m really looking forward to taking him on his first bushwalk. It is an easy walking trail which is great for kids and we’re so close to home that if it all goes badly, I can quickly get him back home to his comforts of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ and ‘Bob the Builder’.

I didn’t walk for very long. I knew my Saturday ritual of pancakes with the kids was waiting for me at home, but the little walk that I went on had me so refreshed. It felt really great to get back to nature.