As a 46-year-old woman, these are the things that truly bring me joy: soup; good health; being right in an argument; neat kitchen cupboards; witnessing the slow, glorious unravelling of a world where powerful men once assumed they’d never be held accountable; and writing stories from my heart. And so, I’ve spent this last week doing my part.

First up was the incredible decision to plan our meals for the week without any input from my family. We had soup three times, and I’ve spent more on olive oil bread from Racine than I did on petrol. Mostly because of my proximity to Racine bakery. I didn’t even make “good soup”. No, there was no pumpkin involved. We had potato and leek, mulligatawny, and pea and ham using the frozen Christmas ham. So good.

Also, I got annoyed with the coffee mug and teacup cupboard. We have too many, you see, and any friends who come over for coffee get the ones we use every day. Our so-called “nice cups” remain untouched. So I solved this problem in the only sensible way - the girls and I smashed them all with a crowbar in the carport.

Look, I was sad I couldn’t afford a ticket to a rage room for Mother’s Day, so I made one at home. Plus, it was a lovely mother-daughter bonding moment and a great upper-arm/shoulder workout. Miss 17 was pretty vibrant afterwards, Miss 11 described it as the “most fun ever” and I solved the problem of the cluttered cupboard.

I didn’t enter the Orang Show this year, mainly because there’s no writing competition and it’s my only skill, but mostly because last year my perfect caramel slice was overlooked and I’m yet to receive an apology from the show society. I would like to point out that I followed the plating, slice dimensions, and number of pieces placed as per the show guidelines, and last year's winner showed a flagrant disregard for these rules by stacking many large pieces onto a plate that looked suspiciously non-paper. I refuse to move on emotionally until this injustice is investigated by the relevant authorities.

However, I did enter the state CWA writing competition and for the second year in a row I received a podium finish. Last year I won, and this year I only came third, but the story I wrote was too beautiful not to enter. This year’s topic was “down memory lane” and the piece they wanted was an older woman reminiscing about life with a young family. Instead, I wrote about a life that was cut short, but still full of love and beautiful moments. No win this year, but I’m still so very proud.

Health-wise, I told my husband and the kids we were going out for milkshakes on Saturday morning as a special family treat. On the way to the café, we stopped off at the pharmacy where my unsuspecting victims all received a flu shot. HAHAHAHA. You’re welcome, influenza-protected family.

Lastly, rather than start an argument with hubby about something unimportant, I instead took a break from filling out school notes. He was tasked with ordering lunch, booking parent-teacher interviews, providing the school with Medicare details for the dental screening and my absolute favourite moment of the week - ordering school photos. My beautiful husband doesn’t cry often, and the last time he teared up was during dinner a few months ago when Miss 11 gasped and exclaimed, “Oh, daddy! You look like a unicorn!” (his hair loss seems to be quite strong at the temples)

But tears were most certainly pricking the corners of his eyes as he learned what a “shoot key” was, how difficult payment options are, and that the bare minimum you can spend on a basic set of school photos is $48.

It’s been a great, soup-filled week. And so, I encourage everyone to rediscover the joy of blended, boiled vegetables, an uncluttered mug cupboard and taking their kids for flu shots.