LYS Diaries: 24th - 28th January Part 1

Hello! Connie here.

Another week down, another week closer to the launch. Just 17 days to go until Feb 15 Love Your Sister Launch at Federation Square in Melbourne. I’m loving the buzz of the excitement building up towards launch. Sam and I have been dreaming of this moment for 2 years and it is really happening now.

I spent another few days in Melbourne this week preparing for launch which was awesome. Though I did miss my boys and was glad to be home again. They keep asking me why I have to go to Melbourne and explaining what Love Your Sister is and what I am doing for it isn’t that easy, but we are getting there. They now know that Uncle Long Legs (Sam) and I are working together on a project to raise money for breast cancer. When I was explaining it to the boys, Wib said, ‘just like you Mummy, ‘cos you have breast cancer don’t you?’ Oh they are so innocent! They are looking forward to launch because they want to say good bye and good luck to uncle long legs before he leaves on his unicycle.

LYS Diaries: 14th - 21st January

Safety Lesson #1

Attention to detail is so important when it comes to staging a year-long event such as this. Especially when it comes to safety matters. Every day I make dozens of decisions through a safety filter.

When I take my step-son to the skate park, for example, I don’t try 180’s off a ramp into fakie. I sit at the side and watch enviously, hankering for the day when I can get back to being my good old reckless self (don’t even get me started on quitting tree-climbing).

So, in hindsight, it was kinda odd that I started training without my knee-pads. It’s hot, I told myself. I’m on the relative safety of suburban bike paths, I told myself. Don’t want to get a rash on the back of my knees, I told myself. It’s funny how you can tell yourself absolute crap to help convince yourself of something. A rash on the back of my knees? I mean, really? So, of course, I had a spill at high speed (high speed, for a unicycle, that is) and came an absolute cropper. My shoelace got caught around the crank and I knew I was coming off so was able to prepare for the fall and barrel roll out of it. But I slammed my knee pretty hard, and felt very lucky to have done no further damage. Pads are on from here on in. 

As a consequence, I’ve been referring to myself as Mr Bozo for the week, just to re-enforce the importance of paying attention to detail, especially with safety matters.

Part 3 Glenn Ridge’s interview with LYS

200 pink balloons. One Sister.  One Brother.

LYS Diaries: 13th - 24th January

Hi everyone, Connie here.

After a visit to Melbourne for a Love Your Sister photo shoot and meetings I got home to my beautiful boys (big and small) to a lovely welcome.

Willoughby had made me some Hama Bead craft and Hamilton had saved the last cup cake for me (then asked me to share it with him!). Although I was busy and having fun in Melbourne, I did miss them. :)

It’s school holidays so we have been doing the sort of stuff I can do with the boys, making Lego, building train tracks, and craft, and the trusty old drawing and coloring in. I love doing these things with them, as it can be hard for me to get outside and involved in sports, so Daddy tends to take care of that stuff.

I have found a new hobby, checking out the Love Your Sister Facebook and Instagram accounts. I just loving watching the likes go up and seeing all the comments. It is so good to be hearing from people we have never met through social media. We are really starting to get our message out there and people are really getting into the event. It’s such a buzz!

Back to Melbourne for a photo shoot with New Idea and an interview with The Project. It’s so exciting, I guess Sammy is used to it, but it is new to me and I am finding it really interesting. FB likes went over 2000 on Thursday! How amazing!!

Part 2 of Glenn Ridge’s interview with Love Your Sister

LYS talks to Glenn Ridge on Mornings on MyMp! Part 1