Paul's Corner

Busy. It is funny that when things are not going so well I have time to post about how they are not going so well. I also have the need to get the tough stuff off my chest so I can continue to cope and maintain a sense of hope. When things are pumping along you are just plain busy and although I don’t wish to appear to be successful and therefore ignoring you I am successfully achieving my goals and thus busy moving on and forward.

For those that have accompanied me on my journey thus far you know of the highs and lows and many of you have wished me success and good things. I thank you for that because right now - in fact over the past year in fact that which you have prayed for me has come about. I am busy! I am working. I am earning a living and I am happy. I have always tried to maintain happiness and generally succeeded but being happy in an unhappy environment is different to be happy in a happy environment - isn’t it? I am in a good place. I am the bamboo bending to the will of the wind, I am the leaf traveling along the course of the river, the feather being taken along the winds currents....you get the drift. I am going with the flow of the things that are coming my way - trying where I can to plant the seeds of tomorrows goals and working towards making the best of what I am being offered. I am grateful and thankful.

This year I have completed Dancing With The Stars in Australia and am currently doing DWTS in New Zealand. I have also become involved as a spokesperson for Flora Pro Active - a spread that helps reduce the amount of cholesterol the body absorbs. If you live in Australia you may have seen the ads on TV that started playing on Sunday night. It is a three month campaign with a total of 5 commercials. I am happy with the fact that the ads were made using my family -Andrea - my wife - and my three daughters are in the ads and do a great job. It was such a blast to make the commercials with them as they got to see what it is I have so often done between leaving home and getting back again and it was great to take them on that journey into TV land and see their joy in it and the final product. I am a very proud husband and father!

The Food Trial my show about food and produce in Victoria received very good response so much so that channel seven put the show back on air one month after it had finished airing. It again won the ratings on it's various showings which is great. They at channel seven are wanting us to do more shows which I believe will eventually happen and hopefully sooner rather than later. The truth is things don’t seem to happen quickly in TV land nor do they always make sense in the way they happen so one must believe and work towards them happening. All good things.... We currently have the outlines for 26 episodes traveling from Tasmania up the east coast to the tip of Queensland - so with luck it will get up and running sooner rather than later and be shown nationally across Australia. No doubt it will eventually find its way to the various food networks and channels in the US, England and other countries!!

So work is good! DWTS looks fairly certain to happen again in Sept this year and I think the possibility of it going again next year is high as is the possibility of it happening again in New Zealand next year. If that is so then I am in good shape work wise next year - I can pay the school fees, buy food and pay the mortgage - to know this in advance is such a.... I was going to say miracle but it is just such a relief. Mind you none of it is certain but some things are more certain than others so we will see how it pans out. If it doesn’t pan out I have to say it has just been great that I have had a year where I knew things were going to happen and I knew I and the family was safe - that has meant a lot to me and to Andrea. We would love it to continue on for a fair while and are working towards that. The Food Trail is unknown at present but again I feel fairly confident that it will happen and hope that it is ongoing over a number of years and continents. It is the sort of show that has that kind of potential!!! I must get Cat a copy so she can put at least one episode on to the site for you guys to see!

As for home life things are great! Busy with the girls going to a new school and the in's and out's of that and having teenage daughters - albeit angelic ones! It is great to not have to stress about not having any income and therefore no money and not to stress or fight about why the girls need a new pair of school shoes etc Mind you fiscal responsibility is always lurking in the background as one never knows what tomorrow will bring - although I feel I have a realistic idea.

The girls are great. Elise is still struggling with chronic fatigue, I was hoping that she would be further on the mend than she is but it is one of those diseases that take time to heal and you cannot rush it. It has been a very hard road for her as she would rather be a vibrant teenager doing all those things vibrant teenagers do including be able to attend to her school work. People often think if you have chronic fatigue you are a bit tired and trying harder is all you need to do - wrong!!! It is a disease that people don’t understand and that makes it all the harder to personally deal with it. I am proud of Elise in the way she is dealing with it.

Vibrant also is a great way to describe Emily. She has embraced her new school wonderfully and her life in general. Geez they grow up fast! Emily is almost as tall as me and Erin is getting there also and becoming her own woman!! Elise is 17 in 4 months a fact that shocks me as I type. I am having trouble letting her go! I don’t want her to be that old yet nor any of them to tell the truth. Yes it all gets better but in some ways the idea of them leaving home gets closer and that thought is not one I wish to dwell on. They are great people and I am lucky to have them.

I am also lucky to have my wife. We continue to grow and enjoy each others company. We have taken to walking together over the last few months. It is better than going to the gym together because when we walk we can talk about things. We often walk for about 45 mins to a coffee shop and have a coffee and then walk home - I miss those walks when I am away.. I still walk but on my own I tend to talk to myself which often attracts some odds looks from passers by!

I have run out of steam now. I am on a plane going back to Melbourne after shooting DWTS in New Zealand and I think I may relax with a beer and read my book. I am looking forward to getting home and seeing the kids. It is always chaotic as all three bombard me with what has been going on whilst I have been away and Andrea whom hasn’t spoken to many adults while I am gone has lots to say also......girls do know how to talk! It is a lovely if deafening chaos! Andrea is cooking me a lovely roast and I will get a cuddle from all of them! Indeed I am lucky.

On that note I will sign off on this update. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers over the years - they seem to be working! I wonder where the journey is taking me now?