With the continuation of COVID and its restrictions on movement of people and lockdowns, 2021 has been a difficult year; a year of disrupted and/or cancelled regular, enjoyable activities with no travel to compensate for these losses. To fill in time, I decided to sort through all the family documentation that had been handed down to me over the years and was now laying hidden at the back of a cupboard in an overlarge lidded tub. On opening the tub, … Continue reading
What a year! In February I celebrated my 70 birthday; in early April, Les and I attended the wedding of our youngest daughter Kate to Michael; and by the end of 2021, we will be grandparents to two children. Kate and Michael’s daughter in July and Rachel and her partner Emma’s child in November. My excitement knows no bounds as my dreams will finally be realized when these two are born – I will be a grandmother. On these cold … Continue reading
This is a tale, partly in his own words of my Uncle Walter. As my husband and I walked into the room, we heard, ” Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday, dear Walter, Happy Birthday to me. I’m 91 today, I’m 91 today, hip-hip-hooray.” Uncle Walter was doing what he loves best – singing. Uncle Walter lives in a retirement village in Nerang, SE Queensland, where he has become a firm favourite with the other residents and staff because of … Continue reading
My mother wanted to die at home. As a family we were able to fulfill this final wish. Before she died there were many opportunities to talk to her about her life. In her own words she described her journey as “a life well lived.” Her eulogy which I wrote and delivered (and Mum censored before her death) highlighted what Mum saw as the important aspects of this well lived life. Provided below are several excerpts from her eulogy which … Continue reading
The genes (ancestors) and I are taking a break from each other. A trial separation. It’s not a sudden decision as I’ve been unhappy for some time. We’ve had a long relationship spanning many decades. For most of this time, the relationship casually bubbled along. Both parties in the relationship seemed satisfied with this. This all changed after I retired in 2014. Since then the intensity of the relationship has hurtled along at speed. At first, I didn’t mind as … Continue reading
