by Jackie Bailey | Mar 31, 2017 | Uncategorized
I have just been accepted by The New Seminary into the ministerial program. I’ll tell you about it. I have been looking for a way to pray in community for years. I guess you can take a girl out of Catholicism, but you can’t take the Catholicism out of the...
by Jackie Bailey | Mar 13, 2017 | women who write
Well, Varuna The Writers House delivered. I have a second draft of my novel! I even have a working title: Fearlessly and Wonderfully Made. At first I panicked at the idea of producing something in a week. Then I called my husband who gave me permission to sleep in,...
by Jackie Bailey | Mar 13, 2017 | disability
Today is the anniversary of my sister Allison’s birthday. In honour of Ally I would like to share the children’s story which my talented niece and I are working on. We want to help kids understand that disabled kids are just like them: heroes in their own...
by Jackie Bailey | May 16, 2016 | Random insights, Uncategorized
I have had this question bubbling around in my head for weeks (months, years). Why do Australian governments fund the arts so poorly? It’s not an economically rational decision. There is ample evidence of the value of the arts to the economy. Politicians are...
by Jackie Bailey | Aug 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
Today I bundle under my new doonah cover, bought for its primary colours in a nod to the need for cheering up. My husband has taken our daughter to the playground, which she was unimpressed about, sensing perhaps that mummy’s retreat to bed reflected more than a...
by Jackie Bailey | Aug 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
The pain has hit. Today was the first day I did not think to myself, ‘I can’t believe she is gone.’ Now that the buffer of shock has dissipated, the pain can be felt, as if the body was waiting for the mind to be ready to handle it. Just. Grief feels...
by Jackie Bailey | Aug 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
Today I woke up sick with a cold. It is as if my body, upon hearing me think about starting back to work today, had other, more realistic ideas. I am watching comfort DVDs and eating the chocolate which came courtesy of Julie Lovell. It feels surreal, using the old...
by Jackie Bailey | Jul 31, 2015 | Uncategorized
It is at times of death that religion has its greatest potency. It had been a long time since I had been to mass. As I listened to the liturgy during my sister’s farewell, I could hear the rhythms of the service in a way I had not as a regular attendee. I heard...
by Jackie Bailey | Jul 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
Grief is like the ocean. It comes in waves – some seem angry, some wash ashore with peace in mind, some seem to be trying to return to the centre of the world as if they could reverse the tide and tug of the moon above. I miss my sister. It might seem strange to...
by Jackie Bailey | Jul 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
Eulogy, 28-7-2015 Although I write words for a living, I don’t have the words to describe how I feel about my sister. I’ll try my best. I loved her and she was a part of me, and she always will be. Ally was there from my very first days, and she decided to be the best...
