Category: Australia
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Travelling Solo In Middle Age: Why It’s A No-Brainer
But travel doesn’t rate highly on my husband’s agenda. A Cancerian with an abject terror of finding himself more than five kilometres from our suburb – which he likes to refer to as “the safety zone” – I realised that the only way to give him a gentle nudge back into the outside world was…
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It’s Obvious To Me Why Women Are So Tired
COVID may have killed more men, but it is women it has hit the hardest. We are holding things together, but we are breaking as we carry the emotional and caring burden.
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COVID Won The Battle This Year, But Not The War
Three days ago, I was putting the finishing touches to a post about Christmas party dresses, of all things. To my shame, I was bemoaning the limited choice of dresses for middle-aged women who aren’t a size 8, don’t have legs as long as a giraffe, and who may not feel comfortable flashing their arse…
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When There’s No Tonic On Supermarket Shelves, You Know The Civilised World Has Gone Mad
Here in Australia, we are not in full lockdown yet, but the system is already broken. A couple of days into any sort of meaningful distancing rules and not a drop of tonic water is to be found on supermarket shelves. Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash I’m not certain where it all went wrong,…
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How You Can Help Bridge The Gap Between Rich and Poor This Valentines Day
I hate to name-drop, but I found myself in the same breathing space as two former prime ministers a couple of days ago. The first was Malcolm Turnbull, one of the many speakers at the Side By Side conference run by the Wayside Chapel, who had been invited to discuss the crucial role of students…
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20 Surprising Things I Am Thankful For This Year
Anger was the main topic of conversation during my last visit to my therapist for the year. Anger about stuff I can’t control, mainly, but also anger about the world stuff I talked about here in my last post, as well as some anger issues about the usual personal frustrations. Photo by Howard Riminton on…
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There is only one guarantee in life: Everything changes
Some people are resistant to change – particularly from middle age onwards – while others embrace it. Some of us want to cram as many crazy, new experiences into our twilight years, while others take comfort from what they know. Photo by Alexandra Ișvănescu on Unsplash On a personal level, I have always embraced change, which explains my…
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The 7 Best Ways To Find Your Christmas Spirit When You’re A Grinch
In spite of my newfound, VERY mature thoughts about the insignificance of consumerism in my life at this time here, I have launched myself full throttle into Christmas. Living room with full of Christmas decorations. To be honest, I’m a bit of a Christmas tragic. We were fortunate to have a mother who made the…
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Middle Age Is About Making Important Choices
I knocked back some paid work last week. Not that we’re rolling in money and I can pick and choose the hours I want, but this time my choice was based on my health. I knew that working five days a week in three different fields would have undone all of the good I got…
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The Poor Representation For Women In Politics: Never Has Gilead Felt So Close To Home
Photo by Abigail Keenan on Unsplash Trigger warning: The following post may be a trigger to those meatheads who don’t believe in equality. I know, I know… I should shy away from politics on this blog, but I can’t help myself. What can I say? I’ve got a big mouth and a soft heart. However,…
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Anxious, Middle-Aged Couple Seeks Ideas For Perfect Holiday
We’re in the early stages of marital negotiations about a possible holiday towards the end of the year. I’ve won the first round – as in the old man has finally agreed to leave Australia. However, where to go is proving more problematic. I am struggling to find that perfect holiday destination that offers an…
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We Can All Be Heroes, Without Firing A Single Bullet
Today makes me sad. Anzac Day confuses me because it forces me to question the sacrifice of those millions of men and women that gave up their lives to protect our future. And what makes it worse, is that so many more of them continue to risk their lives for the same empty promises. Kids…
Louisa Simmonds 