I often hear locals say there’s not much to do in the GV, but I’m certain if that were the case, my house would be a lot cleaner, my pantry full of more home-baked goods, and my to-do list shorter.
But even on a weekend at home, we didn’t find ourselves at home much.
There is always something to do in our region, and even if you break your two-day weekend into halves, quarters or something else, there’s enough happening to fill every piece of that pie, whether it be a morning market, an afternoon car show or an evening food and music festival.
I’d love a little persuasive word with Henry Ford and his board about the five-day working week — I mean, when did they expect me to find time for housework?
Among the usual visits with friends, appointments and family celebrations, there were still other events members of my little clan wanted to fit in at the weekend.
I suppose if your tastes were few and not that varied, events of interest could seem few and far between.
But for me and my three teenagers, with their wildly emerging individual and differing interests, there is never a Saturday or Sunday without something pencilled in on the calendar that appeals to at least one of us.
My oldest son, newly L-plated, predictably had his interest in cars drastically piqued around the same time he earned the yellow badges.
Now, at every sniff of a car show he wants to move heaven and earth to make it there.
Luckily for him, we live in a town full of revheads, car connoisseurs and automotive appreciators, and car-related events are abundant.
So, on the weekend, he went to not one but two shows: one showcasing performance and street vehicles, one showcasing mainly classics.
And, where interests collide between family members, one of those happened to be a Wings and Wheels event held at the Shepparton airport to perfectly appease my oldest and my plane-obsessed youngest at the same time.
My middle child happily stayed home playing Fortnite with his friends online, which is where his current passion lies.
After a few laps around the aerodrome’s car park to view every angle of each car, we went “airside”, as one of the aero club escorts fittingly described it, to take a closer look at the many grounded planes that had flown in for the morning.
And because that wasn’t enough of a fix for the slight aviation buff, we had two other separate visits to the airport throughout the weekend to watch planes fly in and out.
See, that’s what I mean — even if there’s no event on, there is a multitude of things to do.
You can watch planes if you’re into planes and trains if you’re into trains.
You can catch a movie, take a painting class, listen to a guest speaker, ride a bike, join a trivia team, play poker on poker night, paddle on a kayak or stand up paddle on the lake or river, go for a run, skate, throw in a fishing line, join a service club, take a hike, go shopping, take up a sport, volunteer at a sporting (or other) club, join a book club, do a restaurant crawl (three courses — one at each of three different venues).
The list is endless.
Of course, sometimes all any event needs to entice my kids to come along in the spirit of our ‘colliding interests’ is doughnuts or ice-cream or something else food-related, especially if they’re forced to face bare cupboards at home if I haven’t fitted in the grocery shopping yet. (Another job I’m supposed to find time for on the weekend!)
The way to their sweet hearts is through their sweet teeth, after all.
So, while it may appear to some that there’s not much to do in little old Shepp, you have to lift the blinkers a smidge, and you’ll see there is more than enough to save you from spending your weekend doing housework.
Bree Harding is a former News reporter and a single mother to three children.