Shambolic Living

The Widow Goes On A Date

Janine — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:23:43 +0000

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago people. To be honest I’ve never been great at the dating...

Milestone Moments

Janine — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 20:50:02 +0000

Hey Simon, Despite my best intentions to ignore the milestones they keep on happening, with or without you. We celebrated your Mum’s 80th birthday back in August. A rushed trip of some 1,850 kilometres all up with just four days to do the 9 hour plus journey, see your Mum, enjoy a night out together...

REMEMBERING PRINCESS DIANA

Janine — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 11:47:24 +0000

It’s hard to explain Diana, Princess of Wales to those who weren’t around at the height of di-mania. My daughters and I watched a documentary a couple of weeks ago about Diana’s death. It’s 20 years since we all listened in stunned silence to the newsreaders telling us she had died in a car accident in Paris....

A New Week

Janine — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 23:48:19 +0000

Hi Simon A new week is beginning down here in relentless reality. There are a bills to be paid, a job to get to and so on. On the positive, Hippie Child is home for a holiday. We went off to the Melbourne Comedy Roadshow and had dinner after at The Grape and Petal. It was...

Keeping it Together

Janine — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:05:30 +0000

Dear Simon It’s hump day. The middle of the working week. Already the to do list has bitten the dust, replaced by the just-in-the-nick-of-time-battle-to-do-the-urgent-stuff list. I’ve been working full time for over a year now. I’ve signed on for the job permanently – which means slotting into income bands, leave forms, performance reviews –...

Two Years on The Grief Journey

Janine — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 22:59:42 +0000

So it turns out this grief thing doesn’t have an end date. The calendar says it’s been two years but our hearts still feel like it was yesterday. You’ve got no idea the number of people who drown, this summer has been a particularly bad one. I want to pass a law that nobody goes...

Christmas 2015

Janine — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:55:53 +0000

Christmas when someone is missing can be a tough gig. Robin Bailey wrote about the lead up to her second christmas since her husband’s death on Mamamia. While Christine Rasmusen on Second Firsts had some great advice for those struggling to deal with the holiday season. This year was our second christmas since we lost Simon.For...

Exorcising the Grief With Another Letter

Janine — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:07:15 +0000

Dear Simon It’s been awhile, sorry about that, but I’ve been busy you know raising these daughters you left behind, dealing with this house (yes I know the house was all my idea, clearly you were right it was a bad idea to build I can hear the “I told you so” booming down on...

So Things Got A Little Freaky

Janine — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 11:59:56 +0000

Dear Simon Talk about signs, this one was a bit out there. I’m trying to get this bloody house finished so I was googling renderers to finish the brickwork, there was one there called Simon Williams (how weird that he would have your name)! Princess Child said I wasn’t to call him … so I...

And So I’ll Stand

Janine — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:06:54 +0000

By Brett Goshorn He never sat on the sidelines, He always stood, And I never paid much attention to it. But as the years passed, I found myself dragging an extra chair, To the weekly ritual of the round ball. Where it would be thrown on the cold earth, Unused, Wrapped in its shroud. The...