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Showing posts from October, 2018

Oh So Excited: Realising a Dream

 The dreaming began in the Covid lockdowns of 2020. Living in Melbourne meant that for the majority of the next two years, my family and I spent a large proportion of our time confined to our home. It was one of the strictest and longest lockdowns, with limitations on the amount of time one was allowed to stray outside the home each day. Along with time constraints also came restrictions on how far from home one could go. It was in these challenging times that my daughter Kathryn and I would often take our allotted two hour walks together. As we trod the same old, familiar footpaths and gazed appreciatively at the same old familiar landscapes and neighbourhoods, we would often turn our conversation to our favourite topic: If you could go anywhere, where in the world would you most love to go? Our top dream destination was a Greek Island. We both love sea bathing, and the thought of floating endlessly on the clear blue warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea was most alluring.  Dr...

Confession: I'm not the greatest model when it comes to driving.

I was running late…again. I could feel the stress rising inside of me. The internal acceleration of adrenalin was great; the temptation to just put my foot on the accelerator felt greater still. My shoulders rose to my ears and I was clutching the steering wheel, intent on getting to my destination as quickly as was legally possible. My impatience for red lights and slow drivers revealed my intolerance. Speed bumps became more like jumps, as slowing down to 20/kms I deemed optional under the circumstances. I was determined to get there on time, or as close to. I knew I was pushing it; I knew I wasn’t a model of driving sensibly and calmly, but my default response to time pressure had kicked in. Running late and keeping to strict schedules is a point of great stress to me. I hate being the one to arrive late, even when it is out of my control. Unfortunately, being a Mum of four kids, with all manner of time constraints, appointments and obligations, has the potential to be a daily issue...

Arming yourself With Knowledge: The Value of Advice

When I was a new Mum staring out on the daunting journey of parenthood, I hungrily devoured any parenting books that were recommended by people who I respected. I was a novice in need of advice. From toilet training to tantrums; fussy eaters to shaping a strong-will; there was literature in abundance that promoted commonsense ways to achieve child rearing success. However, four kids later and a few parenting miles traversed, saw my enthusiasm for this advice wane. The demanding responsibilities of parenting, highlighted my inadequacies, leaving me with a whole lot of ‘Mum Guilt’. Added to this was the reality I came to appreciate: that no matter how diligently you adhere to the guidelines, or follow the three step plan, there are no guarantees of ‘success’ (no one is perfect and no child is a robot or a carbon copy of another). With this in mind, I became cautious of anything that claimed to transform a parenting problem. While I didn’t stop observing how others parented, or asking qu...