Living with a violent pet but unable to let go. I love my cat. Perhaps obsessively so. He is a unique little creature. One of those animals with a personality that seems to dominate a room, demanding to be part of the conversation. …

Sometimes having a bad mental health day can be like being smothered by a dark blanket but there is always a little bit of light that gets through even the thickest weave. — Yesterday I had a mini panic attack bringing the bins in from the curb. It isn’t the first time this has happened. But it is the first time it’s happened at my own home. I walked out of the gate feeling ok (for me at the moment anyway) but once…

Tears flow down my cheeks in a slow deliberate march. Back muscles twist, turn, knot into unbound-able lumps. Stomach pushes acidic regret to my mouth, threatening to vomit onto my computer screen. Shoulders sit high into my ears, solid. Face falls into its now familiar drain. Sadness, utter and complete…

So are kids but that’s another story... — There I’ve said it. No taking it back now. I think cats and kids are dicks. I don’t think I am alone in this thinking. It has been long established that our revered furry feline friends are dicks. What other creature do you know that will deliberately knock stuff off…

Giving our son an alter ego helped us get through the dark times. — “Gary’s gone to Benidorm…again”, my husband said despondently. “So soon?” I question. “He’s only just come back.” I thought we were making some progress. We look at each other and silently hope these tortuous trips to Benidorm will soon cease. We are both tired. So is Gary. …

It wasn't always so. — Our “junk room” wasn’t always the junk room. In days gone by, it was our parent’s bedroom. It was where six of us were conceived and spent at least the first year of our lives. Back then it was always tidy, orderly. Double bed in the middle of the room…

A letter to my mum. Dear Mum, More than a year has passed since you drew your last breath, alone in your bed in the old people’s home. The one place you never wanted to end up. I promised in my head I would never let it happen. But there…

If only this were a fictional tale. — The mornings begin quiet with the exception of birdsong. The sun begins to warm the air, the morning dew soon evaporates. Calm surrounds my garden. As I hang the family washing, I smile to myself and think what a beautiful day. But then… Then… an unholy roar comes from the…

The weird world of IVF. My journey. — I am a veteran of four IVF cycles. None of which resulted in a bouncing ball of joy at the end. But I am ok with that. I am not sure I could have coped with even more medical interference and then child birth itself. It sounds horrific. I faint…