Search through quolkids.com by keyword

 
 Could your business or company benefit by sharing your message to over 20,000 relevant visitors each and every month?  If so contact us today for further information - and see how quolkids.com can help you!
 

This article has appeared in this month’s edition of Birthplace Magazine.

Eight years ago my husband Paul and I thought we had it all. Great jobs working overseas, a jet set expatriate lifestyle on high income and lots of travel. Still something was missing. Four years ago we achieved our goal of coming home, starting our family, and starting up our own business. Still it wasn’t right. The business had taken over our lives bringing stress, little family time, and a feeling of “Is this what it is all about?” Just when we were asking ourselves how to escape the rat race, destiny stepped in and allowed us to walk away from it all. It was in less than ideal circumstances and it meant considerable financial hardship but we still agree it was one of the best things that ever happened to us. There is nothing like a major derailment to set you on the right course- the universe has its own way of working things out!  

So began the next stage of our life. It was at this time that we decided to use our experiences to look for and achieve all the things that we did not have before. One of the first things to get top priority was family time. We decided that whatever we did in the future we would always spend as much time as possible each week with our young children, as it was now that they needed us, not in five years time. On this journey with us were good friends of ours, Diana and Mark. There was a lot of soul searching and doubts during this period as we tried to work out what was important to us. It is indeed very confronting to challenge all your life long held paradigms and beliefs as you try to discover what is really important in life. This process started and still continues today. It required us to be honest with ourselves, our fears, our motivations and most importantly our own sense of who we were as people. Quality of life was the central focus of this “place”. It was exhilarating and inspiring as we began to realise that our life was ours, and only ours to create, shape and most importantly live.

Without realising it we developed an approach and a strategy to move towards a true quality of life. It was simply not something that just happened. It was a thought out deliberate effort to have a better quality of life. Having experienced what is normally considered a great quality of life (linked to the money component) we realised that money alone was no guarantee, sacrifices are often necessary, and a balanced approach is essential.

So quolkids.com was born. Quolkids.com is a Perth based website for families which focuses on the issues which effect quality of life.  We have developed a Perth based site that features local content, whilst keeping a global perspective. It is much more than a parenting site. We wanted to get back to the very essence of what it is to be a family and how the choices we make every day have significant impact on us and others around us. We defined seven core fundamentals – education, health (including pregnancy), safety, earth care, knowledge, community, and convenience. The site has been built around these ideas, presenting articles, a range of information including a comprehensive kids outings section and events calendar, and links to other useful sites. The site grows and evolves each month. We encourage as much input and feedback from our members as this is how we make the site relevant.

Today I believe that we have our ideal quality of life. We are trying our own hand at self sufficiency in our beautiful hills home, we are looking into a part-time school/  home-school arrangement for our eldest daughter Tessa, we role share and work from home most of the time, and are involved in an ecovillage project which we believe will provide our ideal environment and take a step towards improving our planet. Clarity, purpose, common values, common goals and fun along the way have been some of the key aspects that have enabled us to really live. My children know they are an important, valued part of our lives. My relationship with my husband is better than the day we first met over 16 years ago. I spend the majority of my time with the people that matter the most to me in this world in an environment that truly inspires me. This to me is quality of life.

We now enjoy the time to do things as a couple, family and are actively involved in our community. We have achieved this in a time when our financial resources have been at their lowest. Through quolkids.com we would like to share some of our experiences, thoughts and strategies. Combine this with lots of useful information, practical ideas, and thought provoking articles we feel we have presented a very holistic approach to achieving quality of life.

By Robyn Antonelli, quolkids.com