With one of the most stressful years’s nearly over for me, I had the wonderful pleasure of spending Christmas 2014 with my eldest daughter, her husband and the grandsons in Yamba NSW. My youngest daughter, who also celebrated her birthday joining us on Christmas day together with my best friends, topped this Christmas off for me.

Yamba is a quaint little coastal town only 150 kilometers from where I live on the Mid North Coast. It is best known for its magnificent prawns, which we managed to devour together with all the Christmas trimmings.

Waiting at the wharf on Christmas Eve at 6am for the prawn trawlers to come in with their fresh catch gave us pleasure knowing that our prawns would be fresh as and that they would last, well hope for a few days made waking up so early beneficial. Although by Boxing Day the thought of having to eat more prawns was starting to wear off, we managed.

The unbelievable pleasure of waking up each morning to the best ever sunrises over the lake was spectacular! All I wanted to do was just sit and stare into the early morning sun rising while drinking my cup of tea, grab the camera and click away! The cup of tea tasted so special. Everything that had gone on throughout the year for me seemed to fade away into insignificance, well for a while anyway.

I am now back home and ready to start off another year with renewed vigor, which will hopefully give me the strength to ensure that 2015 is a year where I can start afresh, plan the life that I want and be with whomever I want to be with.

Thanks to my eldest daughter, Corinne and her husband, Nigel for inviting me to join them on their wonderful holiday in Yamba, NSW. It has given me time to reflect on my life with renewed enthusiasm.