Never, ever become a smug parent. The day after I wrote about winning at parenting (I mean, it was the perfect day, I even said to Bart, “Don’t bother with the 8th of May, today was mother’s day for me”), Cappers broke her fingers. Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in. I…
Archives for April 2016
The unbelievably simple secret to sibling harmony
After taking so much time off over summer to go to Europe, I’ve no holidays left in the kitty at work. So I’m working through these hols. Bart is taking a couple of days each week to keep the kids occupied, and they have been to friends’ places and activity camps and the like. They…
3 + 5 | Decluttering life
Last weekend we had the BIGGEST clear out EVER. I can’t stress enough how big this decluttering life session was. It was all hands on deck and it took the entire weekend. Not a cupboard was left closed, not a shelf left unscrutinised, not a dream left undiscovered, not a leaf left unturned. The kids hated every…
Skinny people are nude, fat people are naked
For a little while when I was at university, I made some pocket money doing nude modelling for art classes. It was a job, like any other and I was grateful to be part of so many artists’ learning. I’d arrive at the studio, head to the dressing room and take off my clothes, throw a…
Time alone
When my kids were little I would crave time alone like a drug. Between family and work, it felt like every minute of every day was accounted for by service and I just wanted to hang out with me for a moment or two. Sometimes I would drive to the shops for milk and stay in the…
Helping the helper
I have a beautiful, beautiful friend (let’s call her Myrtle*). Myrtle is the kind of woman who cannot do enough for her family, her friends, her community, the world (should it ever ask) (which is always does). Myrtle is kindness and love and honesty and warm hugs when a heart is low. She has her…
Hyper-conscientiousness
I’m a very conscientious person. I want to do the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right attitude. This is why I am flooded with guilt every time I see a police car. It’s not that I’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that I can’t be sure I’ve done…
Raising good people
My purpose in life is simple and it’s the same purpose our grandparents probably had too: to raise good people. Really nothing complex about that, and yet… To raise good people, I’ve got to be a good person myself. So kindness, integrity, intelligence and thoughtfulness form the values that guide my life. I seek to be all…
Responsible for life
Does this photo make your heart thud a little? It does mine. This mass of cables is on the desk behind me at work and it’s been sitting there for a while now, waiting for someone to come and untangle its secrets. I can feel it breathing behind me and it’s making me nervous because, OMG,…
Say something completely useless
I’ve been inspired by my friend Stacey to write here today, even though I think I don’t have much to say. Back when we all first started blogging, having nothing to say was never a reason not to say something. That was kind of the whole point. Sometimes I don’t write here because I don’t…