Latitude -26.5 is just south enough to enjoy a wonderful climate - a little hot maybe at some times of the year and a little humid for a few weeks but for the remainder it's fantastic. Kids can play outside 95% of school days in little more than a t-shirt and shorts. They can soak up all that Vitamin D the sun provides and get plenty of physical exercise. They can ride and walk to school without having to don all manner of wet weather/freezing temperatures gear.
But it's the confluence of our latitude with our longitude of 153.07 that makes this place a standout. We have access to hospitals and fantastic medical care; we are close to a capital city and airports; the beach and other community facilities are on our door steps; our homes are modern light filled and airy; we are surrounded by excellent educational facilities - not least of all being our very own school; our roads are paved and clean; our parks are plentiful and green; our shops are full of fresh food and all of our daily needs, and I'm sure I could find much more to wax lyrical about.
Yet the complaining and whinging on social media, at the checkouts, in our school office, in the car park, in our inboxes is something to behold. And leaves me shaking my head. What does this lack of gratitude teach our children? What are they learning from watching and listening to adults who cannot look around them and see how lucky and fortunate we are at Latitude -26.5 and Longitude 153.07.
What might our children learn from listening to us delight in our environment, being thankful for the services we have access to, talking up our teachers' skills and dedication, expressing a question instead of an instant judgement, suppress our anger and seek more information first, sharing our stories about how the world used to be and how it is now in other places?
Everyday is an opportunity to be grateful we live, learn, work and play at the intersection of -26.5 and 153.07.
