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Managing Anxiety and Depression: The Trick Is To Find Happiness In The Small Things
After the cabin fever brought on by the Armageddon of a dodgy weather cycle in Sydney over the past 24hrs – totally unrelated to climate change, according to our government – it was a relief to get out of the house this morning. After almost a month of holiday excess, I decided that I would…
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When You Travel Back To The Motherland And Feel Like A Tourist
Anybody who has migrated to another country will understand the conundrum of whether “home” will always be the place in which you were born or your adopted country. At this stage of life – the old AF period just prior to death – the question can become all the more poignant with our tendency to…
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The Secret To Surviving Long-Haul Flights With Anxiety
It wasn’t quite the Love Actually airport moment that I had anticipated when I spotted the old man waiting for me at the wrong exit of Sydney airport after my latest grueling long-haul flight, and I wasn’t amused. It seems appropriate to compare the torture of such flights to being forced to a Republican Thanksgiving…
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Who Says Family Holidays Can’t Be Fun?
It was that time of year again last weekend. The family holiday 2018 had spun back around with all the promise of a mammogram. Admittedly, the word “holiday” is somewhat of an exaggeration. The kids will attest to the fact that the word “holiday” is something of an exaggeration. This year – at the old man’s…
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It’s OK To Be White AND A Man, Just Don’t Abuse The Privilege
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Evidently, certain people have a chip on their shoulder about the terrible onus of having white skin. I agree that it is terrible to be discriminated and victimized for your race and gender, and Pauline Hanson’s motion in the Senate last week reminded me of the backlash that has risen amongst…
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5 Brilliant TV Series For The Discerning Middle-Aged Couple
The old man and I watch a lot of detective series together. It’s the only genre that hits the sweet spot for both of us. For him, there are car chases, guns, and psychopaths – although, sadly no dragons – and for me, there is typically a decent representation of female characters – albeit, few of…
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3 Reasons Not To Criticize Your Husband’s Cooking
In my experience, men do not take criticism easily – whether it’s constructive or just plain mean – the latter being particularly relevant to the long marriage. Which is why I have had to tread very carefully this week, while the old man had taken up the mantle of domestic slavery in our house, as…
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The Secret To Growth Is Curiosity
I heard the word “curiosity” mentioned in two different contexts last week. The first time was at Clementine Ford’s book launch in Sydney, for her new book “Boys Will Be Boys;” and the second was in an article in The Guardian by Celia Dodd here, about retirement. Inevitably, “retirement” is somewhat of a buzzword in my…
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The Best Skinny Jeans For Women That Aren’t Skinny
Not sponsored. Nothing gives a middle-aged woman more pleasure than great customer service. Perhaps, because we’ve been through the mill of life, getting hurt, feeling under-appreciated and losing friends we once believed to be loyal, given the right treatment, we are about as loyal as a royal Corgi. And in my opinion, overall, customer service…
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Who Said Marriage Was Easy?
Mariella Says (in the Relationship section of The Guardian today, in response to a letter about a loveless marriage): “It’s easy to pontificate about tolerance and investment in a relationship and far harder to put it into practice. During times of difficulty it’s imperative we remember why we got hitched in the first place.” Dear…
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Should We Share Our Birthing Stories Online? Absolutely!
There has been a backlash recently against new mothers who share their birthing stories online. Some people don’t like this latest version of “oversharing” because they think it traumatizes pregnant women. Although, not as much as the birth… I hasten to quip. I have to admit that I always felt a bit cheated after the births…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 