We recently moved house. Twice. First to my Mum’s place for two weeks, and then to a rental for 10 months while our actual house is being renovated. Moving house again after having moved house eleven times throughout the course of my adult life seemed a little more than I could bear. Of course, renovating … Continue reading
After two years of slogging it out as enjoying life as a stay at home Mum, I decided the time had come for me to return to the (paid) workforce. (See Universe, are you trying to tell me something?) Then, after cleverly securing an excellent child care solution, I procrastinated for months until it became … Continue reading
My niece turned three last week. She wanted a pony for her birthday. But my sister decided against it. How mean… Instead she got a pony ride. Well, several pony rides. And this little fellow gave her a great big smile. “Hey there!” he shouted across the barn. “I’d sing you Happy Birthday, but unfortunately … Continue reading
I have written before about family holidays, and the fact that for the next five or so years ours will not be relaxing in any way. Zero chance of a sleep in, seemingly continual nappy changes, constant effort… But I now admit I was wrong. Holidays can be awesome. This week we are staying in … Continue reading
My birthday is on Christmas Eve. It has always been thus, so I’m used to it. Unfortunately I’m also used to having to come up with some kind of friendly platitude every time a call centre operator gasps in horror when I furnish them with my date of birth. But a Christmas Eve birthday isn’t … Continue reading
I seldom have things under control. If you spot someone struggling to carry their screaming toddler away from the bubblers after school pick up, it is probably me. If you hear a harried voice echoing from a few streets away “Quickly get into the car – we’re going to be late!”…. again, I think that … Continue reading
Birthday parties make me anxious. Hosting a child’s birthday party should be a relatively simple exercise. But for some reason when the time comes around, I seem to get into a bit of a flap. I have tried to figure out why it is so, and I think I have narrowed it down to the … Continue reading
I have two older sisters. But sometimes, if someone I don’t know very well asks me, I say I have one. Because if I tell the truth, it leads to questions: where do they live, are they married, do they have children? I will gladly answer those questions about one of my sisters. She lives … Continue reading
In our house, we have what we call our “Remember When” box. Everyone has one – either in their heads, in a diary, on their hard drive, in a blog. We’re pretty low tech – ours is a simple red box which sits in a corner of our dining room and has been chewed by … Continue reading
At the beginning of last year, I attended a meditation class on Sydney’s North Shore run by a warm and infinitely wise teacher called Margaret. Our homework for week one was to notice and appreciate “soul moments” every day, as many times as we could – moments of beauty and wonder, big or small. Since … Continue reading
charlotte's musings 