60 in 60 #12 Vicki

I am reflecting on the last 60 years, and writing 60 blog posts in 60 days. 30 about people and 30 about events, places, experiences and entities.

Happy Birthday Sis.

My sister Vicki is two years older than me. We were close as kids, despite my misbehaviour always getting my siblings into trouble, or that’s what she tells me!

We all went to Newtown State School and while I was focused on footy, Vicki played Netball and softball with distinction, winning the league best & fairest while playing with Guild Softball Club. Her closest friends were Leanne McHugh and Debbie White who lived on Skene St. Debbie’s Dad was Lindsay White who played for Geelong and was the VFL leading goal-kicker in 1942 and 1948. In the last year Vicki has managed to reconnect with Debbie, who still lives in Geelong. Vicki was a Mally Flea, the nickname given to girls who went to Matthew Flinders Girls High School.

In my time in Queensland Vicki drove over from Perth with a friend, Denise, and we had a memorable trip to Carnarvon Gorge in the Coaster bus.

After leaving school she worked in a bank and then at the Lodge on Rottnest Island.

The older we’ve gotten the closer we’ve become and I love the time we get to spend together. Perhaps that’s because for over thirty years Vicki lived near Wudinna, a small town on the Eyre Highway about 6 hours north-west of Adelaide. She was married and had three kids, Matthew, Daniel and Stacey but the marriage came to an unhappy end about ten years ago. Prior to that, Wudinna was a welcome oasis when trekking across the Nullabor, something I did fairly often, usually hitch-hiking in the early days.

Life in Wudinna was pretty challenging in a variety of ways. The intensity of farming, raising three small children in an isolated place, loneliness and distance from family and friends, and relationship issues not of her making all took their toll but on top of that came a series of health problems. Vicki fell out of a truck on the farm and suffered a significant head injury which has caused on-going pain and problems ever since, including the loss of both taste and smell.

After her marriage finally ended Vicki moved to Victoria and built a house at Leopold, close to where we live in Ocean Grove. It gave us a lot more opportunities to spend time together and to indulge in our shared love of the Cats. In the first couple of years we went to the footy together a lot and still have season tickets together at Kardinia Park.

Family life took a back seat when we found out that Dad had cancer. We got a phone call from Gympie Hospital one day and the next morning Vicki and I were on a plane to Queensland. There followed almost a year of caring for Pop as he went through surgery, chemo and radiation treatment. Between the four of us (Alan, Vicki, Bruce and I) we shared the load but Vicki did the lion’s share. Dad always referred to her as his favourite daughter and she certainly earned that title during that year, although the Golden-haired boy (Alan) also was mentioned in despatches.

When Pop made the momentous move back to Victoria 4/6 of the nuclear Holt family were all living in or around Geelong, but not for long. Vicki met Don and their relationship quickly blossomed into love. Next thing, they had sold up and bought a house in Casterton, in western Victoria.

Things were going very well until late last year when Vicki’s rotten luck with health struck again and she discovered she had breast cancer. She has recently finished chemo and radiation treatment and we are all hoping and praying that she will beat it.

Vicki has been a wonderful big sister to me. She is generous and kind and has a very close relationship with Carolyn. While she was having radiation treatment in Geelong she stayed with Carolyn for a month which was a time of blessing for both of them. Vicki dearly loves her children and especially enjoys being a Grandma to her six grandchildren.

She is fond of her nieces and nephews too and always takes an interest in how our kids are going. Vicki loves doing craft work and scrap booking (whatever that is).

Vicki, I love you very much. I look forward to many more trips to the footy, weekends in Casterton and Ocean Grove, family meals, stories and laughter with you. You are very precious to us.