I walk into the main conference auditorium, dragging my keyboard with me. (Actually, a friend is dragging my keyboard. I am dragging the stand.) The room is set up with rows of chairs facing the far wall, where a table sits. I set up my keyboard beside the main table, testing the sound. I will […]
friends
What I Do on a Wobbly Day
I had one of those days. Yep, you guessed it. I had a wobbly day. Right before Father’s Day too. I was out with friends. The conversation turned, quite inexplicably, toward babies, miscarriage and mothers who had nearly lost their children in childbirth. It would have been fine if it hadn’t gone on so long. […]
Retreating—In a Good Way
When is a retreat a good retreat? When it’s a writer’s retreat. Actually, there are many forms of healthy and healing retreat. Last weekend I indulged in several of them: I took off to a friend’s place in the Blue Mountains, met with writer-friends, ate fresh scones with jam and cream (essential fuel for writing), […]
Flares, Flowers and a Big Pile of Manure
I had a flare-up this week. Before you ask, everything is OK, but at one point it was so bad it landed me in hospital. Flares can be scary. Chronic illness is painful enough, but when your symptoms flare from smouldering into flame, or when terrifying symptoms strike out of nowhere, it can bring your […]
Roller-Skate While You Can!
‘I have decided,’ announced my psychologist/coach friend, Krystyna Kidson, ‘to make the most of things while I have them. To that end, I’m going to learn to roller-skate!’* We were discussing life with chronic illness and, in particular, I was lamenting the loss of predictability and control. ‘How can I go on,’ I moaned, ‘when […]
Alternative Dates for Valentine’s Day
I have never liked Valentine’s Day. Not when I was single. Not now that I am married. To me, if you want to show someone you love them, including yourself, there is no reason to wait for a commercially driven fest like Valentine’s Day. You just do it. When I was single, I did just […]
Not Alone and Other Stories
I recently read the Stories of Life anthology, Bones and Blue Eyes,* mostly because (shameless self-plug alert) I had two stories published in it, but also because I was genuinely interested in other people’s stories of everyday faith. The book was a blessing. There was a vast mixture of stories short and long, telling tales when […]
Single and Sick
I recently took my husband to hospital for a day procedure. Afterwards, when we got back home and were recovering, he looked at me and said, ‘I can’t imagine how I would do this hospital stuff if I was still single!’ ‘I can’t imagine how I would do this hospital stuff if I was still […]
For Singles: Milestones Worth Celebrating
Single people frequently feel left out of major life milestones and celebrations. Married people get to have weddings, bridal showers, kitchen teas, Valentine’s Days and anniversaries. If they have children, they get baby showers, Mother’s and Father’s Days, and all their children’s milestones too: first steps, first words, starting school, first dates, graduation, first jobs, […]
Singledom: The Short Straw?
A recent Triple J radio interview struck a chord with me. Yesterday, on the 8th of July 2021, Triple J’s Hack podcast talked about how singles often get the short straw in social situations, with their dating life on public display and even used as a source of entertainment by their coupled friends. (Listen here: interview […]