A Quest to Discover the Woman Within
Today’s post is the second in my weekly column at BonBon Break Magazine called, “What I’ve Learned…” After a Boys Only shopping trip, Little Man and Darren arrived home, clearly up to something. Little Man disappeared into the study and came out a few minutes later holding a gift-wrapped present in his hand. “Mum, you… Read More
Hey, you! (Yes, YOU.) I see you, you know. I see you in those moments when you think nobody’s looking, those moments when you’re not sucking in your tummy, when you’re yelling at your kids, when you’re serving McDonalds for dinner because you’re too tired to manage anything else. I see your panic when you… Read More
Let me start by telling you a little about my childhood. My mother was, amongst other things, a writer. I would spend hours poring over her scrapbook with clippings of all the pieces she’d written for various magazines, voraciously lapping up her success and revelling in it. I’d stare at her byline under the picture of… Read More
An Unconventional Christmas Story It was a regular day at the local shopping centre. Being December, the centre was decorated with tinsel and holly and all things Christmas. Carols were creating jolly white noise and the atmosphere was festive as we went about our business. Although we are Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas, my kids… Read More
Today’s post is syndicated at Bonbon Break – a stunning portal to the internet’s best blogs and fast becoming a second home to me. I hope you’ll take the time to click over and read about my childhood in Apartheid South Africa, my family’s struggle to fight the system and my tribute to Nelson Mandela…. Read More
To my daughter’s Kindy teacher, How do I begin to thank you for what you’ve done for Baby G this year? You welcomed my little girl into your classroom in the beginning of the year with your arms wide open. No booboo wasn’t worth a cuddle and a band-aid and, likewise, no achievement… Read More
The Ugly Beautifuls On a recent family trip away to breathtakingly beautiful Kalbarri, a small coastal town on the West Australian coast, we spent a lot of time walking the seemingly endless length of the untouched beaches and collecting shells. In the evenings, we’d lay them all out and sort through the treasures we’d found…. Read More
This morning, as I battled to tame her deliciously curly brown hair for school, Baby G very sadly uttered, “Mama, I wish I had long, straight yellow hair and blue eyes.” That one sentence halted my world, Matrix like. In the microseconds that followed, I was forced to swallow the bitter pill that was her… Read More
This morning, the most beautiful picture found its way on to my Facebook newsfeed. It made me smile. It grounded me. It made me proud to be privileged enough to be called “Mum”. Here it is: I was all loved up and happy until I read the horrific caption that went with it: “This picture… Read More
(How a doll from 1984 taught me a lesson last week.) I walked along the aisle, staring intently at box after box. Peeking at me through each cellophane window was a hopeful face that quietly implored, “Me! Me! Choose me!” I was as stressed out as an eight year old could be, torn between… Read More
Hello there, you miserable naysayer, I’ve been home for almost two weeks and I’ve been wondering where you are. You’ve been very quiet (not like your usual ankle-kicking, dream-squishing self) and, for that, I’m grateful. I do realise that you’re waiting to jump out and yell, “No!” and “You can’t!” when I’m least expecting you… Read More
I have a confession: I have a slew of imaginary friends. We may never have met in the flesh (you see, they live in my iPad) but if there’s anything I’ve learned this past year, it’s this: kindness and compassion don’t need flesh and bone to be felt. Funny bones can be tickled via keystrokes. … Read More
I couldn’t believe I was finally here. After a whirlwind six weeks of pre-cooking meals, re-organising of karate/dancing/footy schedules and some serious yanking up of my big girl knickers, I was finally standing at the Qantas check-in counter at the airport. Brand-new red conference handbag slung (so fashionably, people were fainting left and right) over… Read More
