I was born in regional Victoria, the youngest of three girls. Our family was close and loving and my parents worked very hard to provide a great life for my sisters and I. When I was five years old my best friend died. This was the first time I had ever experienced deep grief, loneliness or rejection. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t go to heaven with him. Without reali....
As a midwife I became skilled at intuitively recognising when a women was entering the transition stage of labour. In some cases the established rhythm of contractions and rest would pause and the stillness brought a deeper rest or time to reposition and regroup in preparation for birth. In other cases a crescendo occurs that if not harnessed can lead to an unwanted, obstructed....
I was so excited to go and in typical teen-girl fashion, I had carefully chosen my summer outfit, a new bikini, cute hat and sandals that matched. I was ready, Water Park here I come. When you are a freshman in high school, all of these details matter because you never know when you might just meet, ‘the one’ and just in case today was the day I needed to look awesome! Unfo....
I walked towards the gate of Sunny’s new school this morning, behind the bars was an enclosed area for children to sit. My eyes found four children in wheelchairs. One little boy dangled bare feet from his chair, while another had his eyes closed and dribbled quietly in the corner of the schoolyard. I gulped and took a breath; this is now where my boy ‘belongs,’ the r....
My 8-year-old daughter has become a big advocate for kids that are excluded or mistreated by other kids. I am so proud of her, not just because of her compassion and kindness but because I know first hand what its like to be one of those kids, a misfit. I grew up in a trailer out in the sticks. This was definitely not cool. Where I grew up cool was living in a two-story house &....
