The Contingency Plan

Last night was my first night out away from the Wolf. I was reluctant to go but thought a small break from my current day-to-day would be a refreshing breather. So in the middle of expressing milk, bathing the baby and smothering it in six hours worth of kisses, I found something sexy and sparkly to wear and ran, late, to the taxi.

The evening started when I met the crew at Rose Bay. Everyone had had the afternoon off and looked radiant, and even more so when we saw a small sea plane waiting to take us to our mysterious location.

The social committee takes these events very seriously. Christmas parties are particularly important and are carefully planned in secret with lots of teasers in anticipation. Last year we had corporate box tickets to a Robbie Williams and Duran Duran concert. The year before we went on a posh pub crawl through six of Sydney's most sophisticated bars and in our drunken state ended the night with a scenic and delectable meal at Aqua Dining.

Anyhow by this time, we were high in the Sydney sky on a 20 minute trip up the Northern Beaches, through the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park to a hidden paradise called Peats Bite. The whole experience of being on the plane made the location seem like a holiday destination. Peats Bite is so secluded (you can only get there by boat or sea plane) and in a garden of palm trees surrounded by national park wildlife, we were greeted with divine cocktails and yummy finger food while a small band played some funky and layed back tunes.

My expectations of the night were rather low. The company had recently employed some annoying new people, it was the last day of my rude and lazy Group Account Director who I didn't care to see again, and after declining Kirsty's offer to do some part time freelance work on Monday, she'd emailed me on Tuesday with another proposal regarding a new business opportunity. Although I was flattered, I felt they were trying to push me back into work way too soon.

But despite this, I had a great time. I remembered people from other teams whose company I enjoy, I connected with all the other mums, I had a cigarette (not as good as my cravings had thought), I reminisced and laughed a lot.

I also had a candid chat to Kirsty and explained I needed far more time off before even considering anything work-related. She understood and said she'd keep me in the loop but wouldn't expect me back to work for at last another 6-12 months. Oh the relief! I'm happy her expectation of me are more grounded.

So after eating, dancing, eating and bonding, we all boarded a water taxi and traveled through the bush down the Hawksbury River in complete darkness to Sydney's version of Brooklyn. From there a mini bus returned us to the city.

And around 20 minutes away from home, I received a call from Lucas. Hugo was screaming in the background, he'd vomited and Lucas wanted to know how far away I was. So I hurried as fast as my taxi could take me and was soooo happy to see my frazzled and tired boys. Being out was fun, but in spite the vomit, dirty nappies and long nights, being home again is so much better.