I spent the Christmas break with my extended family in Auckland for about three weeks. It was your typical Christmas. I drank loads, read books and got fat. Standard. But something else happened. I got to hang out with my sister in law and her family and allowed the kiwi calm to permeate my intense madness. I came out of that house of calm a whole new person. (more…)
Yesterday a friend got in touch and sent me the most absurd message. “How do you keep it together and do so well as a mum?”
There was a whole lot going on when I first moved to Brisbane that my fragile mind was struggling to cope with. I got a wicked job on the sunshine coast that I absolutely loved. My manager at the time was a bit of hard ass. Let’s not mince words, she was a bitch and eventually led me to leave a job I really enjoyed.
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When I moved up to Brisbane I inherited a wonderful Aunty and three cousins on my husband’s side. My aunt is a primary school teacher, her eldest daughter in the motor industry and the two youngest are both nurses. The four of them are all so different in personality and character, yet have an intrinsic Winslade quality that binds them.
I met Ollie at a company called Sentis in Brisbane. She is a tiny English woman and a force to be reckoned with. A positive psychologist from Manchester, she is a wildly vivacious character with an infectious personality.
A while back, I was having a terrible time with my nemesis depression. Trying to look for a job, injury and a range of other factors led me spiralling into a dark place.
A friend of mine (oblivious to my mental state) suggested a good show to binge watch called 13 Reasons Why. Wow.Just wow.
If you’re not familiar with the show (what rock have you been hiding under?), it follows a young girl who has taken her own life and left behind 13 tapes to the people she felt contributed to her suicide.
The Real Housewives of Sydney is a show everyone loves to hate. One of the housewives, Nicole, tells the other housewives that she walks her children to the back of the aeroplane to show them the horrors of the peasants flying in economy class. You have to see the video for yourself. As idiotic as this exchange may seem, I can somewhat appreciate the sentiment.
When I was 24 years old, I made the obligatory trip over to the UK to have my “Australian in London” experience. I had set off with the same hopes that most Aussies and Kiwis do. Set myself up in London, work, save and see as much of Europe as humanly possible. As it turns out, life had other plans for me. My time in London was spent almost exclusively in London. Whilst I was disappointed that I hadn’t ventured around the old continent, I got to know London very well and fell in love with the city. The world wasn’t going anywhere and I could always go back. That’s how I consoled myself as I left after two years in the UK.
Last Wednesday I celebrated International Women’s Day at an event put on by the fabulous crew at Champagne Cartel. They had a bunch of great speakers who all pretty much shared the same message…be yourself!
It got me thinking back to the past couple of years of my life that led to that very night on the terrace in Southbank. I had a moment looking out at the Brisbane skyline and thought, “This is who I am. It’s so good to be back”.
I blame my dad. Ever since I was old enough to form memories, I can recall my father with his nose in a book. He read for knowledge, he read for pleasure, he read to pass the time. He would say ridiculously cheesy things like, “the pen is mightier than the sword”, and quotes to such effect.
He created a monster. I very quickly developed a passionate love affair with books. They became an integral part of my life. It’s how I made sense of the world and quenched my thirst for knowledge.
I was born and raised in Sydney and moved to Brisbane shortly after my 30th to buy a house, settle down and do those things a young responsible adult does. In May, 2014 my whole universe shifted with the birth of my first baby girl. Soon after (13 months) on a boozy trip around Europe I got a delightful shock that Elena was going to have a little brother - Enter Charlie. So here I am, mum of 2, stay at home writer/editor/homemaker and maker of humans. After years in the debaucherous media industry, I never dreamed I would live a domesticated life caring for small people. It's been one hell of an adjustment and a serious game changer. Just quietly, I fricken love it!!
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