(First Published on The Motherload Blogzine, 31st August 2019) My name is Lisa. I was perfectly happy about that until I opened a Drama School in my early 30’s and every fourth mother enrolling their child was called Lisa too. It was then I realised that my name gave away my age. Lisa is the... Continue Reading →
Never Too Old to Rock
My 53-year-old husband has decided to become a rock star, and I’m not even kidding. He’s played bass since he was a kid and always dreamed of making it big but work and responsibilities got in the way of that dream, until now. He still has two businesses to run, a couple of school-age kids... Continue Reading →
Life Support For The Sandwich Generation
Adulting is hard. It’s a fun word, like sandwich, and who doesn’t like a sandwich? But the reality of being an adult in the Sandwich Generation is nowhere near as enjoyable as it sounds. Do you remember being a kid and wishing the years away until you could have your own house where you could... Continue Reading →
Mother Knows Best…
I am very similar to my mum. I am also the polar opposite. The latter is understandable because we are not biologically related, but as an adoptee I revel in the things which connect us, like a love of drawing, literature and perhaps less impressively, clothes and lashings of makeup. Recently I’ve been writing about... Continue Reading →
Podcasts — Are They Intimacy Plus?
What Happened to Human Connection? The dictionary definition of intimacy is: ‘Close familiarity or friendship,’ so when I hear of podcasts, which are, by their very nature, an external, intangible, remote digital experience, being described as ‘intimacy plus,’ my nose automatically wrinkles. At this point I should explain that I love podcasts (The Guilty Feminist... Continue Reading →
10 Things I Learned From My College Reunion
I went to a reunion 25 years after graduation. Here’s what I learned: People don’t change Kind people remain kind, funny people will still make you laugh, and the same characters will still be on the dancefloor. Unfortunately, it also follows that the dicks will still be dicks. The mildly pompous teen is likely to... Continue Reading →
The Responsibility of Being Loved
Confession of a Guilty Mother During a meeting about Secondary School admissions, the weight of my daughter’s love hit me like a tidal wave. She’d been interviewed alone by the School’s Assistant Principal, before I was invited in to join them. One of the questions he’d asked her was where she’d like to time-travel to, and... Continue Reading →
This Will Make You Hate Me
My Dogged Fear I have written some controversial articles before, but this is the one I’ve held off from publishing, because I know it will make you hate me. Why? Because I’m about to tell you why I wish dogs had never been put on this Earth. If you’re still reading, if you haven’t clicked off... Continue Reading →
Now I Know Why Hospitals Need Security Guards
I was shocked when I saw what medics face every day It’s true, Doctors, like Police Officers, look younger every year. Following my experiences in five short hours at the Emergency Department of St Thomas’ Hospital in Central London, I have no idea how they keep their youthfulness and positivity. If I had to go through... Continue Reading →