jodiemiller

… on bleeding.

Byjodiemiller April 19, 2021 3 Comments

It's my birthday, and this morning I got my period. Fortunately, today is my work-equivalent of Sunday, so I have a rare day off, and I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. I'm actually okay that Aunt Flo barged in and made herself at home. At least she didn't spoil my party. That was yesterday. Happy birthday to me! I don't have to lift or drive today. I get to write (and tackle the...

#BirthTime, Amazing Grace, oxytocin…and a tipping point?

Byjodiemiller March 22, 2021 2 Comments

Is there suddenly more oxytocin flowing at Channel Nine? Never would I ever have imagined an Australian TV drama about a midwife and a Birth Centre on commercial free to air! With gooey babies and relatively realistic and humorous shenanigans that actually make you think childbirth's not all bad, will most often go right and we don't always need to make a fuss about it. Okay, so it's more Call...

…on achievement

Byjodiemiller March 17, 2021 0 Comments

It's a surreal thing, to work on a project for so long, pick it up, put it down, get distracted, imagine it will never come to fruition - in between I cared for my mother-in-law with Dementia and after that, in a crazy moment of inspiration, started a business with the small inheritance she left behind - and still I played at writing my book. Somehow almost fifteen years passed. Then finally I...

…on disruption

Byjodiemiller March 11, 2021 2 Comments

Original art by Blu Art Xinjia. Where have I been and why have I been neglecting my blog? I dropped a hint last July when this was so new it didn't have a name. All this unkindness surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey has touched a raw nerve. In excuse for my silence, I'm coming out as a parent of a kid recently diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. The past...

Always was, always will be.

Byjodiemiller January 26, 2021 0 Comments

After unfriending yet more people on my most often used social media platform, I understand why so many Aboriginal people in this country choose to stay offline today, instead attending protests with their allies regarding the naming (and celebrating) of our national day of patriotism, Australia Day, as January 26. For those who aren't familiar with our history, January 26, 1788, commemorates...

Being Born is born!

Byjodiemiller November 23, 2020 2 Comments

What Does It Feel Like Being Born is a memoir about having babies, juggling family life and accidentally becoming an activist. I wrote it because, despite all the talent surrounding me, I couldn't convince others to write it! Even as we were living it, I knew it was a fantastic story that deserved to be told. But I didn't perceive myself as a writer then. A communicator, yes, maybe even a...

…on aging as a woman

Byjodiemiller October 16, 2020 0 Comments

'Do you mind if I ask how old you are?' It was an off-the-cuff question from an eighteen year old boy. He faltered a little by the end, realising too late that he might be breaking etiquette, crossing a line. I'm his employer. It's none of his business. I probably should have reminded him of that. Instead, I laughed. I'm a modern woman, right? This question shouldn't scare me. 'I turned fifty...

…on learning to write, and being edited

Byjodiemiller October 3, 2020 0 Comments

This entry is drawn from a guest blog written for Leisl Leighton. Wind back the clock to the new millennium. I was having babies and caring for small children. My husband worked FIFO, which is hectic enough, but I also ran a community group attached to the birth centre at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, where my babies were born. With a group of thoughtful, committed citizens, I...

…on motherhood #1

Byjodiemiller August 9, 2020 0 Comments

Once my belly was prominent I didn't really want to go to clubs or be around crowds of people. Our friends, Pete and Lee, had an unspoken but well-understood open door policy. Their place was like a train station every weekend. Late one Saturday night, sitting at their 1950's laminate dining table in inner-Brisbane, near the river, with the brewery lights flashing through the leafy surrounds,...

Black Dog

Byjodiemiller July 29, 2020 3 Comments

Maybe it follows you home. Slinking in the distance, tail between legs, like you might turn around any moment and chase it away. You don't. You take pity on the mangy critter and invite it closer. Just a few days, you think. Until he's strong enough to go. With a sweep of your arm, you invite the stray into a corner of your room, with a soft cushion to curl up and sleep. Ah, that's better. Good...