Growing crops is a bit like trying to start a family. Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you’re getting a baby. And just because you planned your cropping rotation, prepared your paddocks, controlled pests, weeds and diseases, welcomed rain at the right times and geared up the header to strip golden crops that sway in … Continue reading Choose your attitude
Unlearning ’embarrassment’
At some point between Maeve’s age and mine it becomes socially unacceptable to hug your classmates in the pool and blow kisses to the swimming teacher when she says goodbye (perhaps it’s at the same point that big round bellies and well-covered thighs stop being cute in the pool?). The strange part is, while our … Continue reading Unlearning ’embarrassment’
Committed but not attached
I thought it would have been easier. Through determination or good fortune I had always done what I wanted or got what I needed. Yet, as a wedding guest in my late 20s, I’d been tacked on to my parents’ invitation. I wondered when I would be the bride, proudly and lovingly taking the hand … Continue reading Committed but not attached
Expectations and disappointment
I used to think that if I didn’t have any expectations about something, then I could never be disappointed afterwards. When we were hoping for a baby, consumed with life lived in fortnights, if I didn’t expect a positive result at the end of the month, supposedly I wouldn’t be disappointed. At school, if I … Continue reading Expectations and disappointment
Birthday thoughts
Today I turned 37 years old. The journal entry on my birthday each year almost always begins like that, like each age is a huge milestone. And I guess if you've reached it, that’s what it is. Some years I then go into some sort of reflection of where I’m at in life and other times what … Continue reading Birthday thoughts
Writing by Larissa Patton 