I've talked about my marriage and my husband a lot since he died 16 months ago. My tongue loosened, the words came rushing out of my mouth and hit the air, exploding my truth, our truth, all around me. So many words. And so much feedback since from people who recognised their relationship in mine. … Continue reading Portraits of a marriage
Category: Personal
Being a woman
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
Domestic Violence
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
Sisterhood
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
The ease of gratitude
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
Time for 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