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People

Spring Treasures

Spring Blossom

Every year, two tender thoughts about Spring flourish faithfully in my mind.* Like the perennial seeds they are, they blossom from my memory into a quiet smile every time I see the promise of Spring, and I treasure these memories.

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People

What’s in a nick name?

Graphic with handwritten nicknames: Lee-pup (Leo), Bumper, Hooker, Pup, Fizz, Jack, Liffer

I came across a photo my cousin posted of herself with another cousin of ours on Instagram captioned, ‘Sticks and Squid’. I smiled as I instinctively knew which one was which. The nickname Sticks is new to me, whereas Squid is not too far removed from the nickname we used back in the day, Squiff or Squiffy. Sobriquets are an interesting form of family code, and to be honest, I’ve had a lot of fun unravelling who’s who. Now that I know about Sticks, it’s only right that Sticks’ name should stick, right?

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A darn good job

Flat lay featuring cotton spools, darning mushroom, packets of needles, a pair of socks with a hole, thimble, hand embroidered table napkin, scissors and threader.

What do you do when your sock has a hole? Do you (a) throw it out; (b) shove it to the back of your sock drawer; (c) mend it?

I bought a packet of “hidden” socks to fit in with a trend of wearing low cut socks with sneakers. At the time, I thought these socks were disproportionately expensive for the little amount of fabric (and sewing) used to make the sock. It wasn’t long before I had worn a hole in all three pairs, so I purchased another packet, only to result in six pairs of socks, all with holes. Exasperated by the perceived waste and unwilling to buy any more, I set about crudely mending them.

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People, Places

Nippers and Heroes

Twin girls dressed in swimming bathers, kneeling on the ground with towels round their shoulders are looking directly at the camera and smiling.

Two open water swims taking place 145 km apart on Victoria’s coast on one of the hottest days in January 2023, heralded an unexpected communion of intergenerational Meagher family swimming. My late grandfather Jack – an ardent sporting enthusiast and proud patriarch – would have been tickled pink by this family conjunction.  Read more

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People

Mothers-in-law and enduring attributes

Proud grandparents standing in the shade of a tree with their daughter-in-law and newborn grand daughter.

The November Spring morning shone through the stained-glass windows in the clerestory, bathing the congregation in a yellow light as they gathered in St Dominic’s Church, Camberwell.  My uncle David spoke briefly prior to his sons’ eulogy for their mother Cindy, his wife, and my aunt. David reflected on a conversation he had with his mother-in-law, my grandmother, Dot Meagher, twenty-four years prior.

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People

From the mouths of babes: four generations of children’s letters

Boy with a football smiling at the camera.

Amid the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, I mailed two drawings of a garden scene to my seven-year-old niece (one coloured in, the other black and white).  I asked her to add to a story I started about fairies in the garden and requested that she colour the black and white picture and return it. We exchanged a few drawings and developed the fairy story before our collective effort fizzled out.

During the second winter of the pandemic, in-between lockdowns four and five, I unexpectedly received an email from my niece (via her mother’s inbox) with a word document attached and a simple message.

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