I take my 3-year-old granddaughter to see her 84-year-old grandpa. He has dementia and loves cake, so Daisy and I bring along a passionfruit sponge cake with pale yellow icing. Michael is unusually bright and happy when we arrive. He’s had a shower today and his eyes soften when Daisy runs into the room. He […]
Moving away from friends Moving home can be an exciting time but it isn’t always, and there are times when moving away can be a very sad affair. We look at a number of types of moves and the impact of moving away from friends. I recall sort of my move from Bayswater in Melbourne […]
As the number of dementia diagnoses climbs in Australia, many of us will either find ourselves caring for a parent with dementia, or facing our own dementia diagnosis. Living with dementia is difficult for everyone concerned, and we share here the story of one family. [This is a guest post by Rachael Thomson. Rachael is […]
At some stage of our lives most of us will need to consider aged care options, for ourselves or for family members. To say this is a daunting process is an understatement; both navigating the government support and working out which is the best service, can be time consuming, confusing and expensive. [This post was […]
Will you be a happy empty nester or will you struggle with empty nest depression? Leanne Le Cras shares tips for preparing for and enjoying your empty nest. Leanne successfully launched her two fledglings several years ago and has written extensively about being an empty nester. [This is a guest post by Leanne Le Cras […]
Gender roles in Australia are changing and being challenged within families. Australian men have an opportunity to embrace this change and move forward, with renewed strength, in partnerships that have more to do with equality and the commensurate application of skills, different as they may be, and less about a stereotype of “being a man”. […]
Christmas! When I was a child that word held so much excitement and promise. It was rich with tradition and expectation. It started weeks before the actual day, with the arrival of what seemed to have been hundreds of Christmas cards which were opened, passed around for reading and then displayed on the venetian blinds […]
Mother was raised on an orchard in the Huon Valley, Tasmania and like many who grew up in the 1930’s depression, she was a determined, single-minded, independent woman who never had a full time job. Her education was limited; not finishing high school. Married just before World War II, Mum spent time in Canberra and […]
One morning earlier this year I woke up and realised it was the 50th anniversary for my Telopea Park High School class of ’65 (Canberra, Australia). So, I posted on a relevant community Facebook page to see if I had been forgotten, left out … or rejected! Surely someone was organising a get-together? A single […]
