The Australian Women's Weekly June 2020

As I write this, life is slowly starting to return to something approaching normal. Parks are reopening, cafes and restaurants tentatively unstack chairs and kids frantically search for missing pieces of their school uniforms. In-person catch-ups are being planned and office workers contemplate the daunting reality of retiring the tracksuit pants and trainers in favour of leather shoes and suits. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll even fit into my ‘work’ clothes, such has been my isolation comfort eating, and don’t get me started on wearing make-up again. It has been well documented how this pandemic sparked a return to traditional pastimes; from baking bread and knitting to growing vegies. What I’ve also noticed is how it has driven a leap in the adoption of new technologies. My mother and…

LETTER of the MONTH The Edwina Bartholomew and little Molly cover was magic (And Baby Makes Three, AWW, May). Eddie is a ray of sunshine and looks so happy and natural, and to see her with her bub was beautiful. There’s still a lot to smile about and enjoy, even if life is different during this time of isolation. I will be passing this issue on as usual! D. Templar, Rowella, Tas. ASKING FOR HELP What perfect timing to publish your article during the COVID-19 isolation, encouraging others to reach out for help when they’ve hit the wall physically and emotionally (Back From The Brink, AWW, May). Of all the ‘super mum’ articles over the years, inspiring women to push beyond the call of duty or capacity in their own…

Picture perfect IT WAS SET TO BE an occasion to remember, connecting the 1000-year history of the oldest European monarchy with modern Denmark. Two months of galas and exciting events to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Margrethe’s 80th birthday on April 16. Then COVID-19 set in and almost everything was cancelled. “I will remember my 80th birthday as unique, one of the most memorable,” said the Queen in a national address. While pomp and parties were off, stylish fine art photo portraits of Her Majesty and her family including an historic set-up with her son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik, and the second in line to the throne, Prince Christian, were still released, as was a stunning portrait of Crown Princess Mary’s daughter Princess Isabella for her 13th birthday. Karl Stefanovic…

“This crisis has highlighted that there is a divide.” A FORMER BENEFICIARY of The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program – which enables Australian children in poverty to keep up with their peers in the education system – Alisha McLuckie, 34, always knew she’d pay her luck forward. Having gone on to train as a primary school teacher, today she is a Family Partnerships Coordinator for the charity, a role that involves supporting the education of 316 families in Logan, Queensland. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, it had a particularly devastating effect on those families. “Things were unstable and hard already, this has just added complexity,” Alisha says. “You have got kids who may not have the most settled home and families who have not had education themselves who are…

“What I am today are seeds that were planted long ago.” Mariam Issa had two small children and was pregnant with her third when civil war forced her to flee her home in Somalia. She’d grown up listening to stories at her mother’s knee, while receiving her formal education under the shade of a mango tree, but her country had become too dangerous for her family. With her kids in tow, she exchanged tropical sub-Saharan heat for the scorching desert of Dubai, where her then husband was working. But when he lost his job, leaving the family facing homelessness, Mariam took her children to Nairobi. “That’s how I became a refugee,” she says. Her husband didn’t have a Kenyan visa, and would have been jailed if he had followed, so…

Pushing a shopping trolley down the sparsely stocked aisles in her local supermarket, Lisa Wilkinson is stopped by a sudden thought. “I wonder if Mum needs anything,” she ponders, pulling out her mobile phone and preparing to make a quick call to find out. It’s then – not for the first time, and certainly far from the last – that the crushing realisation her mother, Beryl, is no longer here hits her afresh. At the age of 89, Beryl lost her battle with cancer close to two years ago. Yet The Project host admits with raw honesty, “I’m still not used to her not being around.” As she speaks to The Weekly today, that sense of missing her mother is especially keen. For Lisa, now 60, has recently delved deep…