Adam is away visiting his sick mother this week. The kids and I are here, performing our usual daily tasks – routines so often provide a kind of buffer or safety zone, at least until someone hits peak tiredness and snaps. A thoughtless remark or stinging comeback can let out the positivity in a…
You stepped off the bus from Scout camp with a resolute, yet pleased, expression on your face. Careful not to come over to me until you were sure you had been dismissed (unlike your brother…also at said camp), you walked across the car park and I momentarily lost all perspective. Who was this girl? Was…
If you’ve been watching the calendar as closely as I have, you perhaps will already have noticed that we’ve passed the halfway mark of winter. Of course anyone who lives here, or further south, knows that is absolute bollocks. The weather doesn’t significantly improve until October. In my head, I think of winter as ‘the…
Age 6 & 7 Age 8 & 9 Dear Keira, As I approached my tenth birthday, I remember mentioning my excitement about the milestone to a neighbour. She shook her head emphatically and said, “You don’t want to grow up”. You’re on the cusp of your own tenth birthday, but I’m not going to say…
1. Filling Out Passport Renewal Forms As we plan another international trip for 2015, I got out our passports to check when they expire – and good thing I did, because it’s soon. The kids’ are fine for a while yet. So we need new passport photos! Joy! Because they always turn out the best…
Oh, hello critters. It’s been a few years, so I suppose we were due. But guess what? I’m wiser, the kids are older, and I’m going to meet you bravely. For those of you that don’t die in the treatment, prepare to be squished beneath my fingernails. Those were the words I spoke to myself…
They found the coloured chalk in the cupboard, and like some magic talisman they’ve waved these sticks and made artistic dust on our driveway. We have officially entered birthday season: three in the next two months. Mine kind of sits at the end of the year; an ellipsis when it comes to the family sentence,…
It was this blog’s 7th birthday yesterday. Below is the picture from my first post and another I took on Saturday to put side by side and illustrate just how much has changed over this time. (Saturday’s photo took some pleading to get as Keira is a sick little chook at the moment.) But isn’t…
Dance Shadowy, secretive. I see the shapes you make and patterns of light on the floor. I hear you breathing; heavier now you’ve been dancing for some time. I’m in the other room and tiptoe out to see if I can sneak a look. But I make a noise and am discovered. You turn around and plant…
