Weathering the weather

The Hot. It comes quickly and sits oppressively on top of us for too long. This is the name I’ve given our summer months in PNG (October-February), and I’ve been bracing myself for it since June. Despite my stewing, when The Hot arrived three weeks ago I was ill prepared. Last year Ray tolerated The […]

Paying the cost

Just as sleep was about to envelope me in that deep and satisfying way, I heard the familiar rustling from the other room. I inwardly groaned as the warmth of relaxed muscles gave way to readiness for the inevitable midnight nursing session. Willa always stirs before fully waking, and my ears are fine-tuned to the […]

A skip in my sounds

Cars come, cars go. The constant flow slows and finally stops as the day turns into night, the night into the still morning. The silence that finally descends in those wee hours is only broken by an occasional truck heading to the docks, the loud clanging of containers being loaded onto a cargo ship, a […]

And so it goes

A pile of store-bought fried dough claiming to be doughnuts sat on the counter; they lied. A pitcher of sugary red Tang and several bottles of neon orange Fanta brightened the inside of the fridge with their cheery unnaturalness. Tea, sugar, milk, and a fresh pot of coffee perched expectantly in their various dedicated spots […]

The bike that followed me home

The headlights of our truck cut through the morning dark, occasionally giving me a glimpse of families trekking along the side of the road heading to the football field. All of them were clad in the garishly yellow, yet highly coveted Trukai Fun Run shirts. I was on my way to collect two friends and […]