Note:
"Full as a goog" is an Australian colloquial expression meaning you can't eat or drink anymore.
A "goog" is a slang term for an egg.
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Part 1
"So in closing, may I propose a toast to my amazing wife Kate. Happy fiftieth my darling. I can't believe how lucky I am to have known and loved you for so long!"
Rob had been enjoying the birthday celebrations for his wife of thirty years and was becoming borderline emotional. Not that being emotional was different for him, he often wore his heart on his sleeve. The garden party at their house in the southern Sydney's suburb of Gymea had been organised by their two sons and Rob but Kate had only been told about it a week ago. Had she known earlier she would never have let it go ahead.
Still it was nice to have most of her important people here and she spent the afternoon moving between the groups and thanking them for coming.
As the sun began to set and the last of the guests made their own way home Kate took the remnants of the bottle of her favourite Pinot out to the garden and sat in her special recliner. There she allowed herself to reminisce on all she had and what she and Rob had achieved in their almost thirty years of married life.
Her reverie was however tinged with a new sense of wonder. Some months or even a year ago now she had started to wonder about the things she did not have and the experiences she had put aside in order to get to where she was now. For some time she put her sense of unease down to her upcoming decade crushing birthday.
She had, on one occasion, attempted to talk about it with Rob but he had once again proven to be somewhat lacking in his ability to listen. As usual he took it that she needed a solution and it was his role to provide it. To this day she was not able to recall what it was.
She shook off her mood and looked around. They had married young and after a short time in rented dwellings managed to secure a mortgage with some help from Rob's parents. They bought the 3 bedroom house in Gymea and soon after had Dylan, quickly followed by Tim just thirteen months later. She was able to return to teaching with her mum and mother in law stepping in to provide babysitting. Their 25 year mortgage was finally paid off a couple of years ago so they were now debt free.