I found my wedding speech in the attic a few years ago. I was clearing out the attic of our broken family home, getting it ready for sale. The speech was in a box of old love letters and photographs. Remember love letters? I'm sad my kids will never get one. It rattles me whenever... Continue Reading →
Before there was him, there was her
I had dinner with my friend Jodie on Sunday night. I haven't had a chance to tell you about it until now. I was too busy moaning about my bowling injury and boasting about all the nice wine I drank in Melbourne. I've known Jodie FOREVER. Well, more than 30 years. We met at a... Continue Reading →
Romance isn’t dead
Earlier this week I bemoaned the rise of Tinder and the death of romance. It prompted a friend and Facebook follower to note: "I want romance but wonder like Jennifer Garner said if anyone does that anymore. Where are the gentlemen?" She's talking about Jen's Vanity Fair interview, where she was asked if she could see... Continue Reading →
Let’s talk about sex … in the ladies’ loo
You know that tanty I had about talking to strangers at the Lone Star Steakhouse over the weekend? Well DD was very amused when, not long after I declared the situation "pus" (he's also very amused by my Newie vernacular, did you call crappy things "pus" when you were a teenager?) I disappeared into the... Continue Reading →
What do you want from me?
Naturally, when I heard it was going to be 24C yesterday, I headed to the beach. I mean - it was May 22 and swimming weather - no brainer! Admittedly, the warm weather around the globe is a little scary: a city in northern India shattered the national heat record last week, registering a searing... Continue Reading →
Getting my part two
It's my wedding anniversary today. Sixteen years. We won't make it to 17. I'll have hassled him into signing the paperwork by then. But right now we're still married. I feel a bit weird and - unexpectedly - sad about that. Not because I wish we were together, or because we're faffing around, but because... Continue Reading →
Not knowing it’s the last time
I still had sand between my toes and salty curls in my hair as I started writing this blog post last night. I couldn't resist driving to the Northern Beaches yesterday for my last swim of the season. DD and I went to Palm Beach for a splash. The water was sooooooo divine: clear and... Continue Reading →
My proudest single-mum achievement
"If you make life hell for your ex, you also make life hell for your children." Those words - from marriage and family therapist Virginia Gilbert - popped up in my Facebook feed yesterday, reminding me that I've chosen the best co-parenting path, even though it feels pretty wretched sometimes. Virginia told Huffington Post Divorce: "Your number... Continue Reading →
Say it like you mean it
Every now and then I catch up with someone who hasn't heard my back story of woe. So I tell it to them. There's a little less vitriol every time. Last night, I basically acted as apologist for my ex-husband the whole way through the tale. There's still a slender - white hot - rod... Continue Reading →
Rewriting history
It's tempting to rewrite history and dismiss my 23-year relationship with my ex-husband as one gigantic mistake. Well, aside from the fact it produced my two divine daughters. But that can't be true. There was a time when we were happy and in love ... I just can't remember it. I know we were attracted... Continue Reading →