Ten years ago, I lost my uncle and gained a daughter. I thought I understood grief – I didn’t. Turns out, it’s not something you move past. It’s something you carry, together.

I’ve spent a silly amount of time trying to figure out how to start this piece, classic Tanya has already written a heap, but figured out the start would be future Tanya’s problem. It’s me, hi, I’m future Tanya. That’s the thing yeah? There is no cool or smooth way to start talking about death, you’d think I’d have the hang of it by now though. I don’t. Anyway, bandaids and what not. Last week my Godmother, Carla, passed away. She was 64. Carla, and her son, Matt, were our closest “found family” growing up. Carla was one of mum’s … Continue reading Dragonflies and Worms. Vale Carla.

I completely missed posting in the month of October, and I then I got so in my head about stuffing up my “1 post a month” thingo that I just didn’t bother. Then I gave myself a break (progress over perfection). Anyway, no real idea for a post has manifested and a friend suggested I just write regardless, so I’m going to do a list of life lessons / Tanya Truths. Yes I have done something similar to this, but who cares at this point anyway. On with the show. 1. Being a decent person is freeI’m not saying you … Continue reading Welcome to my TAN talk. (Life Lessons)

I’ve mentioned before that I have anxiety. It is something I’ve struggled with on and off for the past 15 or so years. I spent a lot of time trying to identify what my triggers were and how to avoid them. (I’m a control freak, I hate public transport, I over think everything). This can also mean I struggle getting to sleep, so here is a list of things that keep me up at night. ◦ One time at work I thought it would be fun to tell people I loved them. I’d randomly just add it into the conversation, … Continue reading Things that keep me up at night

I’ve tried to rein back with what I write on here about Mia. Primarily because I want her to feel safe, and never feel like her day to day life is canon fodder for my blog, but secondly because… it’s the new normal, yeah? It’s every day, it’s a moody pre-teen and me still fumbling my way through parenting (and lockdowns, and obligations, and LIFE). Kids are hard. They’re annoying a lot of the time too, sassy little jerk. She’s a pretty cool human though, and she’s coming in to her own. She’s still a kid though. Last week was … Continue reading Insta what?? InstaParent.

I keep hearing how everything is finally getting back to normal now. Praise jeebus, everything is getting back to the way it should be. Packed shopping centers, commuting, being stuck in traffic, having to be around swarms of people – is that what you want? That is the normal you strive for? Nah mate. I kind of feel like people are trying to force a square peg in a round hole, and then when it is jammed in there they exclaim “See! Perfect”, everything is normal again. Like we can wash away the trauma of the last two years by … Continue reading The New Normal

The title (well, part of it…) is one of them witty quotes floating around. You’ve probably seen it on some random post, meant to make us think, then giggle and then continue doom-scrolling. It feels like the older I get, the more complicated my thoughts on previous “good times” become. I remember for many years being that person who would talk about loving high school. Don’t get me wrong, I had some fucking good times in high school – friends, parties, ditching school – it all paints this brilliant, nostalgia fueled, tapestry. Realistically though, there were some really fucking shit … Continue reading Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be (AKA F*ck you Aslan)

Welcome to another entry in the “Tanya forces herself to write something” category. This one came to me while I was thinking about my circle of friends. I have a healthy circle of friends and consider myself lucky to have an awesome group of people who I get to live this wacky life with. This post doesn’t cover all of that though, it won’t go over every type of friend I’ve ever had, because it would be exhausting, and I don’t subscribe to that. I’ve noticed that I have certain archetypes that some of my friends fall into. Broader than … Continue reading Friendship Archetypes

I really made a choice when I said I would write one blog per month. The month has tick tick ticked away and I have written all of five dot points. I have no real sense of what to write about this month, so I’ll stick to what I know most about… ME!  I generally use this blog to help me deal with things, process the inner thoughts and whatnot. There is another reason though, and that is, I like to write. I have a novel I want to finish one day, and part of getting myself motivated to finish … Continue reading These are a few of my favourite things