Christmas Lunch

Sara is breathless with anticipation. She always is this time of year: the excitement of purchasing gifts for loved ones, the holiday to somewhere different, the exquisite feeling of nothingness in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when the days blend into each other, and all you're good for is more eating, lying…

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Coming home

'Circle round the back,' I say to Ben. We've been driving for six hours. Stopped at a roadside motel and spent a night in a flea-ridden bed. We both rose at 5AM, itchy and groggy. I briefly contemplated a hot shower to wake up and maybe burn off the fleas, but one glance at the…

Losing Mia

Barry and I were in a small room, just off from triage. It was styled with a sofa, two arm chairs, a small occasional table with a lamp, and cheap art work. Also on the table were brochures: organ donation, funeral homes, cancer foundations, and SIDS. And a vase of plastic flowers. We knew instinctively…

A morning in the life of

'Harriet, don't tease your sister!' I yell for the umpteenth time. I wipe my forehead with my gloved hand. I am washing the breakfast dishes. The dishwasher's kaput. Died mid-cycle three weeks ago, so I had to empty it of half-clean crockery and then bucket out the excess water. Since then, my lower back is…

Mothers’ Day

I've just risen out of bed. Had a lie-in, joined by Our Girl for cuddly snuggles. Hubster then made brekkie for me and brought it on a tray to the bed. On the tray was a hand-picked rose from our garden by T2, an espresso coffee made by T1. Brekkie was avocado, fetta and bacon…