Sometimes life has a way of stopping us in our tracks, quietly urging us to reflect. It’s so easy to get swept up in the holiday buzz — the endless plans, the lists, the preparations. This year my Christmas tree is surrounded by a growing pile of gifts, a testament to my large and loving…
Tag: gratitude
Everyday Joys
What makes me smile? It’s rarely the grand occasions. It’s the small things — the fleeting, almost hidden moments that could so easily be missed in the rush of daily life. Simple things. Quiet things. Yet rich with warmth. That first sip of chai in the morning is one of them. The way the steam…
Good Morning
This morning I find myself wishing I could somehow share this tranquil place with you — to put into words the quiet splendour of waking in the countryside. I wish you could hear the gentle melodies of the Australian bush as the day begins — the cheerful laughter of kookaburras drifting through the open air,…
My Pink Ribbon Day
After weeks of helping care for my elderly parents, I have been carrying a kind of tiredness that sinks right down into your bones. And yet, this morning, in the very early hours, I found myself wide awake. Melbourne was putting on quite a show outside, with lightning flashing across the sky as a fast-moving…
This Moment
I rose before the sun this morning and slipped out the door while the world was still half asleep. The birds were already awake, singing their bright hopeful songs into the dawn, sounding far more cheerful than I felt inside. Mum was having surgery today, and I was going to spend the day with dad,…
Life Defining Moments
There are some moments in life that do not simply live in our memory. They mark us. They sear themselves into us so deeply that no amount of time can soften their edges. Years may pass, whole seasons of life may come and go, and still those moments remain startlingly near, as if they happened…
Something to Smile About
What makes you smile? I sometimes think life poses this question softly, in the middle of the most ordinary moments. Not during the grand occasions we prepare for and photograph and remember, but in the passing fragments of an ordinary day — while walking through a supermarket, sitting at a red light, or driving home…
My Dad, My Hero
I was told that when I came into this world, my father was especially glad that the baby placed into his arms was a little girl. I have often pictured that moment in my mind — my father looking down at me with love already rising in him, holding me carefully in his hands as…
Wait a Minute
There is something in me that longs to find joy in every single day. I know, of course, that some days make that easier than others. Some arrive carrying lightness, offering up small gifts almost without asking. Others feel heavy from the moment we open our eyes. They ask us to endure more than we…
Apples of Gold 