There has been much written about being a cis woman in this world. What that means, and what it feels like. I always think about this - about how men would cope if they had to live with the fear, the constant compromise, minimising of our circumstance and what happens to us. What would happen … Continue reading Being a woman

I have been married for almost 23 years. For the first five years of my marriage, I lived with emotional and verbal abuse most days. I remember that some days, he was so irritated by me that even my breathing was wrong. We screamed and yelled at each other. He never hit me. Once, I … Continue reading Domestic Violence

An early morning visit to the refuge this morning to drop off some clothes, and as I listened to the women's early morning talk - greeting each other with "Morning, Sissy!"  as they got up and came into the kitchen to see me - I started thinking about one of the things I know most … Continue reading Sisterhood

Today was a watershed day.  A few days ago, we crossed the $10,000 threshold on our givealittle page.  https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/aunties I didn't notice until today. For shame. However, when I reached the page, I had to look twice to make sure that what I was seeing was accurate. And yes, it was. I immediately burst into … Continue reading The ease of gratitude

It's almost February, so I'm a bit late with this post. #refugexmas is done and dusted , the new year has started,  life has returned to some sort of routine. But I wanted to tell you all a little about what a difference you made to the women and kids this year. 25 women, and … Continue reading Time for gratitude

Today was the National Day of Random Acts of Kindness. I'm not really about having a day especially for kindness, but I am aware that many people need a focus for random acts of kindness, and that's okay. Let me tell you, though, about what kindness looked like, in my life, today. Many days are … Continue reading Kindness