Family Business: The Business of Being Family

By The Guerin Family

Two loving parents, seven outrageous siblings, one extraordinary family!

The Guerin family share their individual life stories, incredible challenges, and moving insights, taking you on an emotional journey full of laughter and tears that is overflowing with love and an honest joy for life.

The Guerin family memoirs capture the essence of what could only be described as the perfect handbook for creating a loving family.

Family Business: The Business of Being Family will inspire you to live and love your life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Oct 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781452525785

The Guerin Family

The Guerin’s are an extraordinary family of nine from the beautiful Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Inspired by the world’s leading new-thought authors and passionate about living life to its fullest, the Guerin family is proof that love, laughter, and gratitude are all you need to survive the circus of family life.

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Copyright © 2014 The Guerin Family.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Photo Credit: Paul Henry Photography

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com.au

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2577-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2578-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 10/08/2014

CONTENTS

Preface

The Journey So Far: Lyn Guerin

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Act One: Cathryn Guerin [Carlson]

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Act Two: Anthony Guerin

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Act Three: Paul Guerin

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Act Four: Daniel Guerin

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Act Five: Christopher Guerin

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Act Six: Jeffrey Guerin

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Act Seven: Donna Guerin [Henry]

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

The Last Word: Peter Guerin

About The Authors

The Guerin’s would like to thank their family, extended families and friends–

you all know who you are.

We love and appreciate you all!

And a big thank you to our readers for coming with us on this extraordinary journey we call family.

The flower of life is said to represent everything that has manifested.

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I see the life of a flower as being similar to the life of a family. With the right amount of love, nurturing, and a solid foundation, it too can manifest and capture something sacred and beautiful.

– Lyn Guerin

PREFACE

I drew the short straw and won (or lost, depending on perspective) the task of saying hi to you the reader from all nine of us, the authors. What a huge responsibility this is. The enormity of this task overwhelms me as I ponder and plan, write and rewrite in my head what I will say. I find many excuses and become very busy with other things so as not to have to sit down at my keyboard and put words on paper. Days and nights, some of them sleepless, have passed and the deadline looms in front of me. And so now is the moment, I can no longer delay the inevitable. I question what is the big deal? What has stopped me? I think the reason is that I want to paint the right picture for you, so as you fully understand what you are getting into when you commence reading Family Business.

Let me start at the beginning… Yes, there are nine of us… Peter and myself, and then seven children… Big kids now, aged 32 to 42. An even larger family now that we add partners and grandkids. Colourful! Complex! Fun! Frustrating! These are just a few words of the many that I could use to describe our family world. Yet there is the one word that ties it all together, ties us all together, and that is Love. It was always about family for Peter and I. Family always came first. One goes, we all go was the catchphrase and we were all in this family thing together.

Over the years countless people have said, Your family is different, special, amazing, unique… you should write a book. We always nodded and agreed that yes, we certainly did have something wonderful happening and that one day we would indeed write a book.

That one-day arrived when our third eldest Paul, attended the Hay House Writers Workshop and decided to enter us all in a writing competition. A family meeting took place via conference call and it was decided that we would all write our own chapters without consulting each other. We had a deadline (a sure fire way to get things done) and we had a plan, and so the furious writing began. Some of the family were travelling overseas at the time, and so some of the writing took place on planes, in hotel rooms, on cruise ships and at airports. There was some kicking, punching and complaining along the way, but the deadline was met.

We didn’t win the competition, but we will be forever thankful that we entered. Without having the reason to write it now, the family book would still be just a one-day dream.

Two years have passed since we met that first deadline for the original submission. The saying Life is what happens while you are planning something else rings true. Each family member has been on their own adventure… work and play, concerts and contracts, business and babies. Amongst the busyness of life we have all been rewriting and editing our own, and each other’s chapters.

I must say that as I read what each of my kids had written I was constantly amazed at the different perspectives (there is that word again). I was reminded that it is not what happens to you, it is how you perceive and respond that matters, and determines your experience. Even though we were all on the same bus, we were all looking out different windows at different scenery. There is nothing wrong with this, it is a fact of life, and it certainly makes for some very interesting reading. I had the best time reading the very different writing styles of each of my kids, and I think this contributes to the appeal of Family Business. I am sure that you the reader, if you have children or have observed other families, ponder that siblings from the same gene pool can be so remarkably different. As our children were growing up we encouraged them to be the best they could be and not be in competition with anyone else. We encouraged them to be confident in themselves and be their own person, and this is very evident in their writing styles. Yes, they are all individuals. There are some common traits, but each has a very strong personality that makes them who they are. If the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, then this reading experience will certainly thrill and entertain you.

To say that I am proud of my family is an understatement. I am proud that we actually did it, we wrote this book together. I am proud that each member of the family stepped out of their comfort zone to do something that most of them hadn’t done before. Now each of them can add the words writer and author to their list of achievements.

Our hope is that you will be encouraged and inspired, as well as entertained, by the many stories we collectively present to you in these pages. We encourage you and your family to hug lots, tell each other you care, agree to disagree if necessary, and above all love each other! This is it; this is life… suck the juice out of it!

Lyn Guerin

THE JOURNEY SO FAR: LYN GUERIN

CHAPTER 1

How blessed I am. I share my life with a one of a kind husband, seven amazing adult children, with several equally amazing partners, and eight grandchildren (with another one on the way). A life full of love, laughter, music and mayhem… an amazing life!

I sit quietly, a rare moment by myself and look at the family photos, just Peter and I, young and in love. I can’t believe it has been almost 43 years since we met, because it seems like only yesterday. I find I cannot account for each minute, hour, day, or even each year that have woven themselves into this tapestry I call life. Snippets of memories, trigger more memories and soon the story begins to unfold.

It was January 1969 and I was just 16. I had finished school and had started work. I had been reading a book my brother-in-law gave me titled How to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carnegie. This was my first taste of personal development and I liked it. I liked how it made me feel, and as I walked across the bridge to work every morning I’d smile and say hello to others. I learned that you should never condemn, criticise or complain, and my self-confidence was growing.

Throughout most of my childhood I had danced but had never done ballroom and so one lunch hour I took myself along to the Sandy Robertson studio in Brisbane to enquire about classes. The welcoming stairs encouraged walk up, dance down and so I did. I was excited with the anticipation of something new. Little did I know my destiny was in place when I talked my mum and dad into driving me into the city the next week for my first class.

Well, all the boys lined up on one side of the hall and the girls on the other, and there was this one boy who kept changing with the other boys until he was standing opposite me. We danced on air, we just fit together and it was as if we had known each other before. The teacher, Bob Steele, told us we looked good together and partnered us up, and so it was, the dance of life began. Not always have we danced to the same tune, and there have been a lot of toes stepped on over the years, but we have learned to go with the flow and just enjoy the ever-changing rhythms.

Our first three months were a fairytale. The synchronicity of our meeting gives me goose bumps when I think about it now. Peter was conscripted into the army, the luck of the draw based on birth dates. He was from Melbourne and had been sent to Brisbane for training before he was to go to Vietnam. We spent as much time together as possible, dancing, falling in love and learning about each other. We came from such opposite backgrounds, I was like an only child (my sisters being 17 and 20 years older than me) and Peter was the eldest of 9 children. I had told my family when I was just four years old that I would have lots of children when I grew up, so to meet Peter and hear all about his brothers and sisters was just wonderful. I knew that I wanted to spend my life with him and create our family together.

One of the first things he told me was that I could be, do or have anything that I wanted. I had never been told that before, and those words impacted my life greatly. He is still my number one fan and mentor.

Peter went off to Vietnam and every day we wrote long and beautiful letters to each other, and recorded voice tapes. How incredible, the latest technology of the day meant that you could record your voice on a three-inch reel-to-reel tape and then mail it to the other person. The right equipment was needed and then you could listen to each other’s message. It certainly made the separation more bearable. A day without a letter or tape would be the worst, and then the elation the next day when two would arrive in the mail, was indescribable.

~ ~ ~

My family arranged a holiday to Melbourne, and this of course seemed the perfect opportunity to meet Peter’s family. I will never forget the first night I stayed at his house, there were people everywhere, and they all lived there! There was noise and laugher, pushing and shoving, and joke telling. It was lots of fun and I knew for sure that this was what I wanted in my life. My environment had always been so quiet and ordered and predictable…what a contrast!

I must have got the thumbs up from Peter’s family, because soon afterwards Peter wrote to Mum and Dad asking if we could get engaged on his R & R leave (rest and recreation). Most of the young soldiers would go to Hong Kong or Bangkok on their R & R, but here was my Peter coming home to get engaged to me. You can imagine my parent’s predicament. It wasn’t until I was a parent myself that I could fully appreciate the enormity of the decision they had to make.

Finally Peter received a letter from my parent’s agreeing to his request. He promptly, by return mail, wrote back requesting that we become engaged immediately and be married on his five day holiday leave, three and a half months later. Words cannot express the pandemonium this caused. I would still be only 17 years old on the proposed wedding day, and then Peter would return to Vietnam for a further three months service. What if, what if, what if… My parents discussed every dreadful scenario with me, they interrogated me as to my true feelings, and finally I guess they just felt it was right, and so agreed.

As I look back now, not only was our wedding day a fairytale, it was a miracle. Here we were with Peter’s entire family (minus sister Anne, she and her husband had a brand new baby girl and were unable to make it) having towed a caravan all the way from Melbourne that was now parked in our back yard. The church was booked for our Nuptial Mass, the reception was booked, and the wedding cars and photographer were booked. My mum had made my wedding dress and all the bridesmaids and flower girl dresses. Our honeymoon on the Gold Coast was booked, and soon there were guests arriving from Rockhampton (my side of the family) and Melbourne (Peter’s side of the family).

All of this was subject to Peter arriving home to Australia on time on our wedding day! Thankfully his plane did arrive on time at 9.20am into Brisbane and everything went like clockwork. The amazing thing was that we had not seen each other for nine and a half months, and had really only spent three months together when we met. It never occurred to us that any number of things could have gone wrong like Peter’s leave being cancelled, or his flights delayed. We were so focused on the positive outcome for our wedding day, and that is what we got!

~ ~ ~

I will never forget going to Brisbane airport to meet Peter, and the entire family were there…what a welcoming committee! There he was, so handsome in his uniform, my Mr Wonderful. We hadn’t seen each other for nine and a half months and this was our wedding day. I can honestly say there was not one moment of doubt; we saw each other and both knew it was so right.

It was a very hot day in January 1970. We went through the motions, visiting the priest, visiting with each other, everyone talking at once, cold drinks and lunch, and then to get ready. We were not superstitious at all. The groom had seen his bride on their wedding day, and did I mention the date was the 13th (lucky for some they say). And so if luck comes into it, it was lucky for us, still happily married nearly 42 years down the track.

We had a friend of the family driving his white car as our wedding car, and after we left the church he took us for a drive so we could have some time together before the reception. He got lost, and my mum was not impressed.

The reception had a few hiccups, one of which was that one of the two trestle tables with the beautiful wedding cake my sister May had made collapsed, but the cake didn’t fall, it was fortunately balanced more on the remaining table.

My singing teacher Myra Fountain talked me into singing at our reception. She was playing the piano, and made the announcement that I would be singing The Glory of Love. I was very nervous, but so glad afterwards that I did it. Even though I was not and am still not a singer, Peter thought it was wonderful.

Finally we were on the way to our honeymoon on the Gold Coast in my dad’s car. Peter hadn’t slept for 24 hours with the long flight from Vietnam and his sheer excitement, and so the drive to the Gold Coast was a challenge. Without the modern motorways it was at least an hour and a half drive, so every few miles we had to stop so Peter could walk around the car to stay awake.

Finally we were in our little love nest in Broadbeach, and so started our married life. We had enjoyed our day trips to the Gold Coast during our first little time together, but we couldn’t believe how fortunate we were to be able to honeymoon there for 5 whole days (Neighbours of our family had offered their unit to us at a great price, and only in the last few years has it been replaced by a multi-storey high rise).

We were married on a Tuesday and on the Thursday the entire family came to visit us on the Gold Coast. Peter’s family had really missed him while he had been in Vietnam, so it was a great chance for everyone to share the time together. We spent the day at Tallebudgera, and it remains a favourite spot for us.

We drove all the way up to Brisbane on the Saturday for a family barbecue and then back to the Gold Coast for our last night together. Sunday was the day Peter had to go back to Vietnam for a further 3 months to finish out his two-year service in the Army. I was heartbroken to say goodbye to my new husband, after spending only 5 short days with him. His flight was delayed and when the announcement was made over the loudspeaker, my sister Joan started singing Give Me Five Minutes More, a hit song of the time. I was not impressed, as we usually didn’t have stirring in our family. I soon found out that I needed to get used to it, as Peter is a master stirrer.

I was very upset that I didn’t conceive on our honeymoon as we both wanted a family straight away, but I guess with only five days together that was not surprising.

~ ~ ~

I started a new job as in those days a lady couldn’t work in the Public Service when she married. That didn’t particularly perturb me because I never enjoyed working in the office at the Health Department, and was quite happy to change jobs and work in a record company. It was still office work, but at least a little more exciting.

Those three months seemed to drag on forever, but finally the day arrived and I boarded a plane for the very first time, and flew to Sydney to meet my husband arriving home from the Vietnam War. This was a huge leap for me, but I was so excited to be seeing Peter that I didn’t even give flying for the first time a thought.

I had to find my way from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, and I think I caught a taxi. And so there I was, standing in a sea of people watching the uniformed young men being greeted by their mothers, girlfriends, and young children in some cases. There were sounds of excitement and squeals of delight when someone would recognise the next soldier who appeared from the terminal. I was starting to feel anxious as I could not see Peter, and then all of a sudden he appeared beside me. He had come out of the terminal much earlier, and was probably first off the plane. I obviously wasn’t there when he arrived, and so he had been searching the crowd for me also. What a moment that was, finally setting eyes on each other, together at last with no impending separation. We were young and so in love and the future was ours.

~ ~ ~

We only spent one night in Sydney and then flew back to the Gold Coast. We bought a car, a brown Valiant, spent a few days with my family and then drove up to my hometown Rockhampton, to visit some relatives.

This was a wonderful time, as at last it was just the two of us. We talked and drove and enjoyed getting to know each other again. We went to the Gympie Show, and had a great time with Peter learning to play the Stylophone, a little gadget that Rolf Harris had been promoting. I am certain there is so much talent inside Peter. He is very musical, and creative, but never really had the opportunity to develop it, being the eldest of nine children living a no frills life. We have children with such amazing and diverse talents and I am sure that their dad has a lot to do with that.

When we got to Rockhampton we stayed with Aunty Glady and Uncle Bill. He was as tall as she was short and they were just a lovely happy couple that couldn’t do enough for us. I remember my three Aunties (Dad’s sisters) with great fondness as they were all extremely short and had the most infectious laughter and great happy dispositions.

A lovely thing that my Uncle Bill did was to arrange for me to meet my Grandmother (Mum’s mother) as we had never met. My mother and her mother hadn’t spoken for years, a situation that still saddens me to this day. Such a waste of emotion (this scenario was to be repeated with my mother and my sister Joan). Sometimes the lessons we learn from those we love are what not to do. I was so impacted by the negativity of this situation, that to this day I do not hold onto anger or resentment, and encourage all my family to live with this attitude also.

Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else.

You are the one who gets burned.

– Buddha

The meeting with my Grandmother was quite strange; in fact she was just a stranger that looked a lot like my Mum. I was thankful that I had the opportunity to meet her and she seemed to share that sentiment, but it was too late for any relationship to develop, and now she is just a distant memory. This was an amazing lesson for me, and I promised myself that I would be the best Grandma ever. Warm and loving, and connected to my grandchildren, and that was before I even became a mother. Being a mother was something that I had always wanted. I know it may sound a little strange, but it was true. I believe I was only 4 years old when I made the announcement that I wanted to have lots of children. My family all found that quite funny, as apparently I was a sickly and scared child. Who knows where the idea came from, but it seemed that it was my destiny, and as with all perfect plans the pieces fell into place.

My step into motherhood couldn’t come quickly enough. Here we were on our second honeymoon in just a few short months, and somewhere between Rockhampton and Mackay a new little life started inside me. We headed back to Brisbane and after a tearful goodbye to my family we drove to Melbourne. We didn’t consider any other options as Peter had a good job to go back to, and that is what we did. It wasn’t until much later in our life that we learnt true security is within yourself and not your job, and that lesson gave us amazing freedom to live a full exciting life with no boundaries.

It wasn’t until I was a parent myself that I realised what a huge challenge it was for my parents to agree to my wedding and subsequent departure from home at such a young age. My leaving must have left a huge space in their lives. I had arrived when my parents were in their mid 40’s, a big surprise. Mum and Dad already had May and Joan who were 20 and 17 years old at the time of my birth. My sister May eventually shared with me that Mum had kept her pregnancy a big secret and that even my sisters didn’t know that I was on the way. They thought that Mum had just gained weight. My dad met my sisters at the front gate one day when they got home from work with the announcement Your mother had a baby girl today.

I had been like an only child as I was only 9 months old when my eldest sister May married, and just 3 years old when Joan married. I was the centre of my parent’s world, and even though there was not a lot of money, I never missed out on anything.

~ ~ ~

Our road trip to Melbourne was interesting. We stayed the first night in Armadale in a small on site caravan and it was so cold. Of course the car we bought in Brisbane didn’t have heating and we froze.

It was a long and cold trip and I became quite ill with the flu. It still saddens me that at just 12 weeks pregnant I had a miscarriage. It was one of the lowest points in my life. Here I was in Melbourne, thousands of miles from my family, experiencing the Melbourne winter, and losing the baby that I so longed for. Peter was there for me and we shared the sadness together, and looked forward to when the dream of a family would become a reality for us.

We spent the first week in Melbourne at Peter’s parents house and then through a friend, found a place of our own. It was on 5 acres of land at Tullamarine. Although it was a little farmhouse and quite rundown, it became our love nest. Before long we had made it our home. We sewed the curtains together, and because Peter was the manager of the furniture department at Myer, we were able to get some great furniture at reduced prices.

I had a couple of jobs that I didn’t particularly like as office work just wasn’t for me. I also went through a time of disappointment, as each month when I wasn’t pregnant I would be devastated. I was so worried that maybe I wouldn’t be able to have babies that I probably slowed the whole process down.

Finally it happened, and I became pregnant. I was so excited and so sick. I would have to take a bucket with me in the car on the way to work. I was sick in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, but I was happy. I had to give up my job and that was the best thing that could have happened to me. I started to feel better after my doctor prescribed Debendox, a tablet to help with morning sickness. Later it was found to cause birth defects. How thankful I am that my precious baby was not at all affected by it.

The next thing that happened changed the course of our lives. I answered an advertisement in the paper for Watkins products. They were a direct selling company that marketed a range of spices and other food items like tapioca and vanilla essence, family care items and some beauty products. The company had been around for 100 years in the USA and quite a long time in Australia. An older man came to the house to interview me. I was very excited, but told him I would have to ask my husband if I could spend the $20 for the sign up fee and kit. Of course Peter said yes and the next day I started my home-based business.

My first customer was Peter’s dad who had used the essences and spices before and told me how good they were. He gave me a big order and I was over the moon. I later found out that the family thought this would be my first and last order, as they didn’t think I would go door to door selling. Of course a door never buys anything, it was more person to person selling, and that suited me just fine.

I had found my niche and I loved it. I got the biggest buzz out of meeting all the new mums in neighbouring Gladstone Park and an even bigger buzz when I would get an order. This was for me, and I was so happy. Here I was, pregnant with my first baby (not feeling sick anymore because of the drugs) and doing a job that I loved. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of a lifetime of adventure in the direct selling field.

~ ~ ~

The house we lived in was set back off the road, agapanthus blooms lined the wide front fence and I loved their beautiful colour. I’ve always enjoyed flowers and sunsets, and full moons and ocean views, but during my pregnancies these emotions were heightened and I was on cloud nine most of the time. It was quite a walk to the front gate, but the bus stop was conveniently right there. I was able to get the bus to the doctors and then continue into the city to meet Peter and come home with him. All of this was great until at about 8½ months pregnant I realised that this little exercise was not going to be quite as easy when the baby was on the outside. I decided it would be much easier to drive, and so I called up and organised to go for my licence. I had already been having lessons with Peter and back then it was all a much easier process. Thankfully I didn’t really look that pregnant, and I sailed through the test. I would not have been allowed to go for it if they had known how far along I was.

Well this was freedom, and I loved it. I was now overdue but feeling great, so I asked my girlfriend to drive into the city with me to go shopping. It was a good idea until we got to the car park. The ground floor was full, and the 2nd and 3rd and so on. By the time I got to the top level of the car park I was exhausted with all the manoeuvres, as it wasn’t the easiest car park to drive around in.

Glenys and I had a lovely time shopping and then met Peter for lunch. She then headed home and I spent the afternoon just hanging around the shops. I was feeling very heavy and by the time we drove home, I was in the early stages of labour.

The feelings of anticipation and excitement of a first baby are wonderful. We were waiting for the right time to go to the hospital, and we spent an uncomfortable night at home before heading off to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Coburg early the next morning.

It was September 1971 and I am glad to say things have since changed. You were met at the hospital door by a nun who promptly took your suitcase and dismissed the father to be with pretty much a Don’t call us, we’ll call you vibe. Apparently he had no place at this stage of the process.

However, Peter didn’t go home and somehow managed to get in to see me. I was one of the unlucky girls who spent quite a bit of her labour throwing up and unfortunately managed to be sick all over Peter’s tie. Yes, that is right, he was dressed in a suit and tie, so as he could go to work afterwards. I had quite a long labour and my beautiful daughter Cathryn Anne was born at 4.30pm on Wednesday 15th September.

She was just 6lb 1oz and 18½ inches long, and beautiful. I could not believe how blessed I was to have this beautiful daughter. I was in seventh heaven and I felt amazing. I was only 19½ years old and bounced back into shape immediately. I stayed in hospital for 8 days, and I couldn’t wait to get home and be a family. Peter couldn’t wait for me to get home either, so that he could hold both his precious girls.

In those days the dad, if he was lucky, got to briefly hold his newborn baby (he most definitely was not allowed at the birth) and then it was whisked away to the nursery and then all he could do was view his new little one through the window, by holding up a card with the family name on it. The baby stayed in the nursery and during feeding time, approximately every four hours, all the babies would come out at the same time on a long trolley with all the little cribs lined up. The whole process was quite barbaric, but all we knew at the time. We didn’t even get to change or bath our babies, and only had them when it was time for a feed. They stayed in the nursery all night.

The nuns were very strict, and all the new mums had to be tucked up in bed (literally) with no legs showing before any visitors were allowed in, and you were not allowed out of bed during visiting hours. You had to wait until the last visitor left and then when the doors were shut, I would get up and go to the window so I could wave goodbye to Peter.

The day began at 4.30am when a lovely hot cup of tea and a biscuit, along with the baby, was delivered to the mum. That was the best time. I can remember several mornings when I was awake before this happened and I would stand at the window and watch the horse drawn milk cart and hear the clip clop, clip clop on the cobble stone road. Euphoria is the only way I can explain how I felt after giving birth to each of my babies. This feeling never diminished. Each one was my miracle, and I was filled with gratitude for a healthy baby.

Well the day finally arrived to go home, and words cannot describe my excitement or Peter’s. He didn’t sleep a wink the night before. He arrived at the hospital looking so handsome and was just glowing. The nurse carried our baby down to the front door and handed her to me. There were no capsules or seat belts and so I held her in the front seat while Peter drove us home.

I will never forget the moment we arrived home. We walked straight into the bedroom and laid Cathryn on the bed, and Peter unwrapped her like the most precious gift that she was. She was just beautiful and so perfect, and we were filled with joy. Life couldn’t get any better than this.

~ ~ ~

Our neighbour across the paddock came over to see our new little girl and then we bundled her up and went to visit Peter’s parents and Nana. Peter and his dad went for a game of tennis and Peter’s mum and Nana insisted that I have a rest. I am sure they were thinking of me, but more so that they could have the baby to themselves. I made them promise to wake me the minute she wanted a feed, but I don’t think they did.

We had dinner there and then headed home for our first night together as a family. Peter was a wonderful, hands on dad. He would get up for the night feeds and change her, make me a cup of tea and hand her to me to feed in bed. He loved little babies. His mother had warned me that he definitely didn’t let sleeping babies lie.

Apparently he would come home from school or work, and pick up whichever was the newest sibling, and was happy to spend the time looking after them.

Every night after work he would greet me passionately and then pick Cathryn up. He would eat his dinner with her in one arm and then dance around the lounge room with her and me sometimes too. There was always music playing.

We had continued to have ballroom lessons up until Cathy was born and went straight back again afterwards. We would take her with us in a carry basket. Music and dance were a part of Cathy’s life from the minute she was conceived, and so it is little wonder that it is such a huge part of her life to this day.

My mum and dad came to visit when Cathy was just two weeks old and my mum was wonderful. She took over all the washing and cooking which was a great help. My dad just loved holding the baby, and really enjoyed his time with us.

My Watkins business was still going strong and now I would go out with my new baby, visit my customers and knock on new doors with her in the pram. I loved it. I won a couple of awards for sales that I hadn’t even been aware I was in the running for. I was really quite naive and didn’t know it was a tough business. Life was very, very good.

I was breastfeeding Cathy and there was a theory that you wouldn’t fall pregnant when you were breastfeeding. Well, my milk started to dry up and sure enough it was because I was pregnant. This was just fine with us, as from the start we had wanted lots of children and all close together. I wasn’t sick with my second pregnancy at all and had a really great time. I loved feeling the baby inside moving against my baby on my lap. It was such a complete feeling of bliss.

There are some times in your life that stand out as turning points. My sister May had given me a whole set of fabric paints that I just loved. You could decorate doilies and shirts and any number of things. Somehow this led me to Hobbytex, which was the same sort of thing but with a ballpoint. The ideas were unlimited and it was sold on Party Plan. Well here was a new and very exciting business for me, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. All those paints in a rainbow