Earlier this week, I found a surprise parcel on my doorstep. Instantly, I recognised the handwriting of a dear friend from high school. She'd sent me a late birthday present  —  a funny coaster and bookmark. Just the ideal gifts for me. She knows my sense of humour. It brightened my day and made me so joyful. Photo by Anda Deea on Unsplash It got me thinking about friendships. The types of friendships we have and the longevity of them. At primary school, I remember, I made my best friend on the first day and we remained best friends until a new girl started in my last year of primary school. Suddenly, we were best friends and I'd told my long standing friend that we were no longer besties. When I think about it now, I do wonder what on earth I was thinking. That new friendship didn't last the school year and then I'd lost my really good friend in the process. A very early lesson learnt.  We aren't born knowing how to make and keep friends.  It a social skill that ...

I’m not in the least bit surprised or shocked that being childless is STILL used as an insult towards women. Men, who cares about their loins and what they do or don't do with them? Women on the other hand are fair game when it comes to judgement, shame and ownership. There is this perceived ownership of all these collective wombs but not by the women who actually possess them. In a lot of cases, we don't seem to have a say because others perceive that they know best and ultimately restrict a woman's rights to body autonomy. Everyone should have body autonomy. You deny women these basic human rights, you are jeopardising women from achieving their full potential and equality in the world. We as women are more than our wombs.  We as women make great strides and huge contributions to society and the world and still people distil women down to such banal levels. It is not a badge of honour to have children. It is just something people do or don’t do. It's that simple. Now,...

Weekly updates on what I'm up to, may get a little repetitive and boring as standalones. So as I have previously done, I'm combining these blog posts with other thoughts etc. I've had during the week.  There is so much going on in the world. I struggle with the news.  As I've got older, I find it harder to get into news stories in the same depth I did before. Now, I find I am overwhelmed by it all. The negativity, the pain, the suffering and the feeling of hopelessness. It's gotten to the point, where I will admit, I will look at the headlines and read the subheading at most, and then I will move on. I will cherry pick articles, I am prepared to read in it's entirety, based on the subject matter and what I feel I can handle. I was thinking about why my interaction with the news is different now. What's changed?  I think, I've learnt what I can handle and what I can't and made my peace with it. That with time, age and experience, I know what I need t...

I’ve been thinking about a very moving article about life and living by a 31 year old dying man. I first came across it toward the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 and sporadically I keep coming back to reread it. Maybe it was the timing of when I came across this article in The Guardian , but it has had such a profound and lasting effect on me. In fact, Elliot Dallen , the author of the article, has had such a transformative effect, I now realise that I’ve been trying to live in the way he felt was important. It resonated so deeply and so strongly within my soul, it’s left a permanent impression. I have shared this article with people in the past. I don’t think I shout about it as much as I should. It needs to be known, to be read and to gain new readers. I will be as bold to say it needs to continue to be heard, read and felt for the rest of time until we as humanity no longer exist. In fact, when I list out the ways he thinks we should live, I’ve eerily and unknowingly stated...

I have had very mixed feelings about 4th September. In the run up, I'd been purposely very vocal on this blog that this was the day that a) all the kids would now be in school and b) that I had ambitious goals I wanted to achieve with the time I would now have available. Emotionally, it's been tough. Seeing my two older boys go back to school and my youngest start school, has made me incredibly sad. You realise there is no ownership when it comes to children. That's what I've realised as a parent. You are their caretaker and their biggest cheerleader. Nurturing and guiding these little souls to independence, always from the sidelines while they take center stage. Until you are no longer needed but hopefully wanted.  Then there is a part of me that needs space. Physical and emotional space from the kids. To not be a mum for awhile. To explore parts of myself that I've shelved, put on hold or never had a chance to look at. I will always be a mum now but I am also me...