that's life! Issue 14, 2022

‘I love looking back at old cards’ Over the past few months, my mum Sally has been having a big clean out of my childhood home. Mum and Dad still live there, and while the house is not large, there is a lot of stuff. A chunk of it belongs to my sister Lenore and me. For instance, there’s a box of old school projects that I know I should throw out. However the old adage of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is never more apt than for an adult ‘child’ who has useless stuff at their parents’ home! But I’ve been revelling in the nostalgia and stories behind all the cards, letters and photos that Mum is unearthing every week. Whenever I visit, there is something new to reminisce…

My granddaughter Billie Grace, six, and Shed Cat – they just love each other. Julie Wood, Charlesville, Qld On a fun trip to the shops, our granddaughter Lillian and grandson Jacob turned into a butterfly and a tiger. Julie Zammit, Roxburgh Park, Vic Thank you so much that’s life! for the great prize of a Nintendo Switch. Jeanette Mills, Valla, NSW When I travel I always take my favourite reading material with me! This was in the beautiful grounds of Pullman Bunker Bay Resort in Margaret River, WA. Leanne White, Canning Vale, WA We were in awe of this magical sunset when flying from Hobart to Sydney. Julie Smith, Glandore , SA My beautiful grandchildren Neveah, one, Evie, four, Kayley, seven, Logan, five, and Taj, eight, had a great day together at the dinosaur playground in Truganina, Vic. Antionette Portelli, Werribee,…

Robyn Borrell, 58 Sitting in the donor chair, I watched my blood go up and around the tubes. After walking past the New Zealand Blood Service Centre in 2008, I’d worked up the courage to donate. Amazingly, one donation could save up to three lives. ‘You’ve got AB negative blood,’ the nurse told me after a quick test. I had no idea it was super rare, accounting for just one per cent of all blood donors. Sitting down for my bimonthly donation in February 2014, I was being hooked up to the machine by a nurse when a bloke sat down in the chair opposite. It’d been six years since I’d started donating and now I gave plasma, which is used to treat people who’ve lost blood through trauma, and those with various autoimmune and bleeding disorders. After…

Mariah Lucas, 30 Standing behind the closed door, I shook with nerves. Is he a changed man? Will he tell me what really happened that night? Will I be safe? I wondered. Aged 24, I was about to meet the man who’d murdered my mum, Sharlene, 26 years before, in April 1993. She’d been just 22 when she lost her life. My aunt told me Mum had been murdered Taking one final deep breath, I opened the door… I didn’t have any memories of my mum, who died when I was just 15 months old. As a kid, my dad, Donald, never mentioned her. I didn’t even learn she’d died until Dad went to prison and I moved in with my aunt – Dad’s sister – and uncle when I was seven. ‘Your mum was my best friend,’ my…

Shelly Wall, 50 I’m pregnant!’ I shrieked, sitting against the bathroom wall, a positive test in my hand. Rushing to tell my husband, Rob, then 46, we were elated. Sadly, a couple of months earlier, we’d suffered a miscarriage. But I tried my best to enjoy this pregnancy, despite my anxieties. With my girls, Steph, then 19, and Ally, 14, I’d had shocking morning sickness. This time was a breeze! Then, at my 16-week scan, the sonographer’s face paled. My stomach dropped. ‘Does he have a heartbeat?’ I asked, clutching Rob’s hand. ‘Yes,’ she said. There was a moment of relief, before I was told I needed to see a doctor. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came in. ‘Your baby has spina bifida. Have you heard of it?’ he asked. I had, but didn’t know much about it. It meant that our…

LUNCHTIME Charlie, Queanbeyan, NSW* At my office, we did our jobs and, at the end of the day, went home to our own lives. Sure, there was the occasional staff farewell, but that was about it. I liked it that way – it was friendly enough to have a chat but not so friendly that we knew everyone’s business. Then one day we got a new manager called Jean. ‘As a little hello gift, I’ve ordered pizzas for lunch,’ she announced that Friday. There were grateful murmurs and the free lunch was a nice change from my usual egg sandwiches. ‘This is fun!’ I said, as Jean came over. ‘Charlie, tell me about yourself,’ she said. It was the last thing I felt like doing, but I politely told her I liked surfing and I was engaged to…