With Every Breath
I was really looking forward to AJ’s First Holy Communion. It was going to be a very special event in his life and an event that would bring the family all together. Right from the beginning I did not want this celebration to get the better of me. I can often get caught up in…
Read MoreIn our DNA
There are some things about us, some things that define who we are, how we feel and how we act, that are inbuilt into our DNA. DNA that is long woven into the history, the fabric and the complexity of who we are as an individual and who we are as a community. Some of…
Read MoreA little baby to love
I had a feeling my sister-in-law was pregnant. So much so, that when I received a text message from her one Saturday afternoon asking to come over that night, I turned to my sister who was next to me and said “Guess who is pregnant?” I seem to have a knack for these things, predicting…
Read MoreMiniature terrarium bonbonniere
The responsibilities of being a godparent are many. The responsibilities of being a Greek godparent, a Nouna, are even more so. The list of preparations is long for a Nouno and a Nouna. Preparations for the godchild, for the ceremony at Church and preparations for the celebration that follows. One of my responsibilities as a…
Read MoreQuccija
It seems the older I get the more I have a soft spot for the traditions in my life. Not all the traditions, but many of them. Maybe it is a reflection on getting older, wiser. Maybe it is a way of having a tighter grip on a life that feels like it is moving…
Read MoreHumanity Without Borders
When I was three years old, my parents packed up their hopes and their dreams, waved good-bye to their family and friends and flew 25,000km to the other side of the world to start a new life. It was a new life that promised hope and the chance to dream. A new life that promised…
Read MoreKeeping Secrets
Keeping secrets can be like making the bed every morning in some families. It becomes part of their everyday ritual. A ritual that becomes so common and keepsake it stops hovering at the surface and sinks slowly down into the intricate layers that makes up a family. The word itself ‘secrets’ can summon dark and…
Read MoreThe Christening Gown
Thirty eight years ago my mother held in her hands a pair of silver heavy set dress making scissors. They were a pair of scissors with faded black paint to distinguish the handle. She stood there with the scissors in one hand and the delicate folds of the white fabric in the other hand. The…
Read MoreOn the Shoulders of Men
On the shoulders of men is a story that has sat in my drafts folder now for almost two years. It is a story that has played in the back of my mind, churning over, words jumbled and undone. I have tried to write it. Sat down to start and finish the draft. Yet each…
Read MoreAt the heart of my family is pizza
Back from our summer holiday and it was straight into mum’s kitchen. She had sent me a text before we had arrived home. “Home-made pizza Saturday night at our place you are invited.” My response was instant “me and the boys will be there!” It really is not an invitation that you can turn down…
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