December 26th 2025 Precious silence Precious silence The house is empty. Just for a sweet moment. No demands being made. No one to feed or clean up after. Just me and the empty space. I feel my being expand after days of contraction and holding my breath. I do my best to empty out all the pent-up rage, the pull and push of demanding others, the relentless requirement to feed, clean, shop, repeat. I watch my partner’s son, a natural carer, fluently manage our elder guests. What a blessing. His...

December 25th 2025 Christmas spirit Christmas spirit The heat hangs like a blanket. The crickets are chirping, a summer sound. An early morning ocean swim to soothe gangled nerves and heated blood. I would have stayed there all day, if I had the option. Christmas in Australia is heat, sand and water. The coffee shop was buzzing. Our little surf community celebrating the morning. The best part of the day. Being surrounded by very old people, bodies and minds slowed by age, stubbornness holding...

December 23rd 2025 A swamp of storms A swamp of storms It stormed all night. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning. A respite from the heat. We were at the beach after sunrise, later than usual. After gusty onshore winds for days, messing the surf up, we were surprised to see amazing surf conditions. Clearly not on anyone else’s radar, as there was no one out. But it was raining heavily, and there was lightning. We debated. Risk surfing in a lightning storm? Or stay safe. We took the risk. In...