I gave up crying, petitioning, begging, “What am I meant to do?” Exhausted by the struggle, I stopped fighting, rolled on my back and rode the waves, content to go wherever the
The other day, I listened to a podcast conversation between Fr Mike Schmitz and Matt Fradd. Matt said something like, “I’ve been telling people I went to Sydney to give some talks,
Gabrielle is having a crisis: she’s lost her top notes. How will she resume her career as a famous opera singer if her voice isn’t what it used to be? What will
When I was younger, I often came home from social gatherings and replayed conversations in my head. Did I talk too much? Had I sounded silly? I’d wish I could go back
On the second last day of the year Gemma-Rose invites Andy and me to have breakfast with her. We drive into town to a favourite cafe where, after scanning the QR code
Each week, since the pandemic closed our churches, we’ve been able to attend our parish’s Sunday Mass online. On our devices and TVs, we can see our priest standing in front of
My daughter Imogen and I are standing in front of the birthday candle display in the supermarket. “Which ones would you like, Mum?” I look at the boxes that each contain 12 candles,
The world is outside. I’m inside. I’m under the trees, running along familiar tracks. There are no restrictions and rules. The birds don’t yell, “Back away! Remember: 1.5 metres apart!” There’s no
Just before the world turned strange, on the day that my Godson married his bride, I wore a new green flower print dress. The next day, I received an email from my
After dinner on Wednesday, March 25, I slipped out of the house and made my way to our village. I was on a clandestine mission. Would anyone see me? Would I return
Many years ago, whenever I walked along the street followed by my gaggle of kids, people used to say, “You don’t look old enough to have that many children!” Of course, I
She was so fat she couldn’t fit into a telephone box. How could anyone be that big? It didn’t seem possible. But it was. It was common knowledge. How did she feel?
“What if people liked wrinkles?” I say to my girls. “What if wrinkles were thought to be beautiful? If I looked in the mirror and discovered a new line, I’d smile and