Hush hush - the secret is soul

Last night we had a sleep over at our nephew and niece's house (okay it's their parent's house, but don't tell them that).

After having spent over two months overseas, we had a lot of playtime to catch up on.

'Stacks on' was the most popular game of the evening (imagine layers of people stacked like a pancake with laughter as the syrup) that had us all giggling uncontrollably.

It was getting late for a school night and instead of tucking the little ones into bed, we were invited into the kitchen corner to engage in a hush hush conversation.

"You can take him tomorrow if you want."

"Pardon?"

"We give him one teacher-free day each term and he hasn't taken one this term." And with that, we had permission to take our young nephew out on the town for the entire day (his sister is still a little too young for such an expedition).

We decided to have lunch at Lucia's (pictured above) - a culinary institution located in Adelaide's Central Market. I have long been astounded at how food alone, was able to carry the original 70's decor of orange Formica tabletops and brown vinyl chairs through the ages.

This Italo-Adelaidean icon has gone through three generations, withstanding the pastel 80's and minimalist 90's influences, to have come full circle and be regarded as funky retro in the new millennium. Now that's what I call standing the test of time.

I often wonder what has been the secret to Lucia's success. What I come up with is soul. Sure you can talk about quality produce, consistency, value and not giving into to fads and whims - but it's soul that gives it resilience. It is soul that has seen it live on.

Then I thought about our time here in Adelaide.

While we came to Adelaide for work, we took time out on a 'school day' to have a sit down lunch with four generations of Patrick's family (him, his mother, grandmother and nephew). Sure there are other things each of us could have done that were high on the list of priorities, but we chose to spend time together - and that my friends, is soul.

Until tomorrow, may you inject soul into your everyday life and realise that what lies beneath it all is something else that stands the test of time - family.

Grace xx

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