Looking through old photos in my dad's house one afternoon, I found a picture I had never seen before. It was taken in the early 80's and showed a group of us on picnic at the beach. Studying it gave me a surge of nostalgia for a time I don't remember at all, and made me wish for ...
What makes a holiday? Is it time off work, or time to yourself, or time with the kids, or a break from the kids? Is it time to read your first book this year or time to get through six? Sunbathing or swimming or sliding or sailing or sleeping? Time off social media, or time ...
Exactly two years ago this week, I was on this same beach (give or take a bit of sand) when I saw a woman in a deckchair and almost took her photo. Then I got worried - what if I shared her photo online and it had unexpected repercussions on her life or mine? So I didn't ...
I was going to call this Snapshot of a woman on the edge but that was just too melodramatic for what really comes down to wishing away the long, final days of school before the summer starts. So it's a snapshot from the cusp instead - from one tired mother to all the tired mothers, ...
I'm a bit fragile today. It's a little bit down to last night's wine and tapas - the ratio of rioja to patatas bravas was not in my favour. But it's a lot down to the Last Supper - the goodbye dinner with the mums from my middle child's class. After four lovely years together, we're breaking ...
I am the mean-mom who doesn't let my kids have new toys when it's not Christmas or birthdays, despite the fact that every single child in the school goes to Smyths EVERY SUNDAY to buy new toys - these are the same children who apparently all have their own YouTube channels, own iPhones, are allowed ...
As anyone who works mornings and looks after kids in the afternoon knows, it's a day of two distinct halves. The morning is busy-busy, trying to cram in every last drop before the imaginary school-run klaxon sounds, and tools must be downed. Like the no-nonsense bell in a TV game show, ignoring the unsent email, the uneaten ...
Are you and your friends like me and my friends? We stay in touch on WhatsApp and Facebook. We grab coffee when we can, and we have really, really good nights out when we find a date that suits everyone. But we haven't been away together since our hen parties a very long time ago, and with ...
They came on Saturday afternoon - my almost-last round of edits. This is the time to make final tweaks and find typos. (Typos are so hard to find, but I know they're there, lurking, grinning slyly, hoping to make the final cut.) And for me, the only way to do this is to read it out loud. All ...
"So what did you do for St Patrick's Day?" asked our lovely optician on Monday. "Did you go into the parade?" "No..." said the child. "Did you watch it on TV?" "No, Dad was watching the match, so we didn't see it." I jumped in then, quick to clarify that I'd been at a wedding, so my husband had stayed ...