On the weekend, we were able to fly to Sydney to see the classic musical, Mary Poppins. My sister-in-law, my daughter, my four year old neice and I were having a special girl weekend. We were fortunate to be able to stay in a hotel right next door to the theatre. Since we weren't very acquainted with Sydney, this was a great option for accommodation. We literally only had a minute walk to the threatre.

Excitedly, we all dressed in our Sunday best, and made our way to the threatre. It was a moment to saver and enjoy. We made our way to our seats, purchased a choc top ice-cream and waited for the show to begin. The musical was excellent! The cast was full of so many talented people and it truly was worth it. When the show finished, we made our way outside to take photos and as we did some other not so pleasant excitement began.

Amid all the noise of the busy Sydney street, we heard the sirens of two fire engines and as we looked up, we saw them pull up outside our hotel. The firemen clampered out of their trucks, axes in hand, dressed in fire suits including smoke masks and oxygen tanks, and into our hotel they went. It took a second or two to realise what was happening. From our vantage point, we couldn't see any flames or smoke, so it seemed pretty obivous to us that someone had accidently set off the fire alarm. Jokingly, we laughed about the ordeal. That is, until we looked down to see my four year old neice with tears streaming down her face. She was worried about our belongings.

There was one item in particular, her pink and white bunny rabbit. She had left her in the room when we went to the show. Pinky Whitey has been her bunny since she was born. This bunny went everywhere with her,. Pinky slept every night with her and the thought of her bunny being burnt and the prospect of her not having her was just too much for her to bear. Despite our attempts to console her, the tears continued until we were allowed to go back ito our motel room.

As we opened the door, she ran into the room, grabbed Pinky Whitey and cuddled her so very tightly. It was then that the tears stopped. Her bunny was safe and sound. After we got changed, we went out for dinner and a ride on the ferris wheel and you guessed it, the bunny came too.

My niece and her bunny, reminded me that to a child, simple things such as her bunny rabbit, mean the world to them. We adults get so caught up making things perfect, or expecting to achieve our high expectations., that we don't take the time to appreciate the small things nor people that matter the most to us.

So to my beautiful, sweet, precious neice, thank you for reminding your Aunty to appreciate the simple and precious things in my life.