Real men make bread

About ten years ago my husband was faced with the modern time dilemma of considering becoming a Houseman.  It was a very difficult time, with lots of questions, doubts and concerns.

In times like this you seek out advise and support, which he also did.

At the time, I specifically recall the lack of encouragement from his closet friends. There were many fears presented about having a gap in his CV, not being able to have a career, becoming a cleaner and housekeeper etc. Of course the frame of reference was that of the early 2000's where maybe the model of the man staying at home was less common. However I remember being disappointed by the one-sided nature from his friends. He very nearly reconsidered.

Today I want to make the provocative and bold statement that "real men bake bread and make beer".

Whilst there is an edge of silliness to this, my point is that I have never seen my husband as happy as I see him now. He has found his mojo!

He bakes the most amazing sour dough bread twice a week and at least once a week he hosts the beer brewing club in his man-shed.  My Hubbie oozes man hood in a way that would make high earning, gym visiting, marathon running, shudder.

And in addition he takes the most amazing care of his family. Just for record, no the house is not always clean, the fridge is not always full, the washing still lies in baskets unwashed, and he still steps over the neat piles of laundry that I leave on the stairs, yet the car is always running, my bike always has good brakes and pumped up tires, the broken things get fixed and bookshelves and pictures are hung up.

So I would like to point out that being a houseman is nothing other than self actualizing and a redefinition of what manhood is all about!

What has blogging ever done for me?

After blogging for four years, it is a time to think about what it has done for the world.

Specifically, what has it done for me? and what has it done for you, the readers?

From the beginning I vowed my blog would not be a self serving form of therapy. I always wanted it to be of service to others. I also did not want it to be a diary of my life.

My intent was (and remains) to share the insights of alopecia and to make people smile through my reflections. If I could make people think differently that would be a bonus too.

What is has concretely done for me, is show me the power of writing. It has allowed me to access deeper thoughts and bring them to the surface and more importantly demonstrated that sharing these lines of thought can create a positive movement.

Over the past two years I have also spilled the art of writing into the work place. I write frequently to my team and colleagues, with fun corporate insights and reflections, often leaving a question at the end. It is very well received. People seem to love it and respond back frequently.

I am grateful for blogging teaching me how to spread love and optimism in the workplace.

So what has it done for you?

Well I guess that is for you to decide.

I do hope that at the very least it has entertained you, maybe even educated you about alopecia and in moments caused you to stop and think about your life choices.

Would love to hear from you........

What does money remove for us?

Watching a silly TV programme last night about a hospital that is kind of a 5 star hotel at the same time, really caused me to ask the question whether too much money tears away the most wonderful and real experiences from us.

For example in this posh hospital, women were giving birth to babies and having them taken care of most of the day by the wonderful nurses, so they could get some sleep. Over night the little ones would be in a different room with nurses feeding them and looking after them in their first 72 hours.

Whilst I am fully sure there is a LOT of merit to getting some needed rest after giving birth, it was quite sad that these mothers were missing out on some of the realness of the first few days.

So it caused me to think about what experiences does money rob us of?

Does having money to buy new clothes stop us from reimagining our old ones and recreating something new with what we have?

Does money take away from us the joy of cooking with few and simple ingredients?

Does having the money for some household help, cause us to miss the chance of connecting with our home and our possessions?

Do coffee machines and take away coffees cause us to miss out on the moment of pause whilst waiting for the kettle to boil

Maybe none of these things is true, maybe its marvellous to have nice new clothes, eat out in restaurants, have our house cleaned and pick up coffee on the way to work. Sounds good to me and surely it gives us the time to do more meaningful and important things with our lives. Doesn't it?

Thoughts anyone?

What are you missing out on?

Made possible by the community

This weekend my big girl turned 13.

What an event in the life of a child. What an event in the life of a parent!

She has had a tough year in many ways and I really wanted to make her birthday special. Which mummy doesn't eh?

A lot of thought and planning went into it and yet some how it was the simplest plan on earth. However it was the little things that made all the difference.

She ended up having a sleepover in a tent in the garden. No specific activities, no movies, no sophisticated menu, just spaghetti and an ice cream cake (which I have to confess is actually rather sophisticated and posh food in my mind).



That was it. Well at least for the first part.



The second part was a surprise, when a few friends came by for birthday tea.

What was the real surprise was the generosity, thoughtfulness and the warmth of the gifts. A Harry Potter cake indeed!!!!!!!!!  Yes the below picture is of a cake. Wow indeed!


They made her feel a million dollars and for that I will be forever grateful.



It was a wonderful day and made special by the community.
The community who made went to great lengths to plan a facetime call from her BFF in Canada, the community who sent videos with crazy singing to make us all laugh, the community who sent over perfect parcels with perfect presents and not forgetting, the all important family, who kindly and wonderfully hosted her little sister for the night so she could have a day of grown-upness!


I remember these words today "It takes a community to raise a child"



And one special moment I was not expecting was a gift to me.
My baby gave me this necklace!






I love you to the moon and back too my little angel.


Let's hope every day of the teenage years is as enjoyable as this one!!!!!!