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Country etiquette.

Camilla Hullick shares the joy of being received into a welcoming Gippsland community.

Nov 15, 2020


Words: Camilla Hullick

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Recently, my family uprooted our elderly mother from a busy, Peninsula town assisted her move to Foster. This way we can all be closer, enjoy more quality time together and take care of whatever arises.

I visited Mum the other morning and was pleasantly reminded of what I obviously take for granted these days, having now lived the country life for fifteen years myself.

I arrived to find Mum's rubbish bin had already been wheeled down her driveway and placed in its usual spot beside her garage after the garbage truck had earlier emptied it. It was the lovely lady next door that had considerately taken care of this chore.

I noticed Mum's nature strip had been mowed too. Apparently, one of the neighbours across the road had graciously offered to tend to this job the previous day.

A lump of soil in Mum's 'work in progress' front garden had also been levelled out.

Mum said, "Yes, yesterday a polite young tradesman working on the building site next door offered to flatten the pile for me. He said it would only take him five minutes with his superior machinery".

How nice of him!

Mum and I then decided to take advantage of the beautiful, morning sunshine and rugged ourselves up ready to thaw out and loosen our bones during a short walk.

Upon opening the front door to leave, we were startled by a dozen eggs nestled in an ice-cream container on the doormat, graciously planted there by another neighbour.

Wow - this just doesn't stop!

After our walk, we drove into town to buy our regular coffees. Mum, still mindful of her health vulnerabilities to Covid-19, waited in the car while I strolled inside the coffee shop to order.

I explained Mum was waiting outside, after the gorgeous cafe owner, whom we've grown extremely fond of, enquired about her. With that, she brewed our cuppas and carried mum's latte to the car to greet her good morning. Again, such a lovely gesture.

There are many more examples and Mother is overwhelmed with Foster's hospitality, especially as she's not yet accustomed to a country lifestyle.

It's true, the country and city are worlds apart. Sure, like everything in life, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I'll take rural living any day.

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