The Portfolio of Joanna Myers

The professional works of freelance journalist Joanna Myers. I'm looking to write for magazines that cover family, children, health and travel. Contact me at [email protected]

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6 strategies I learned from 'Survivor' for doing life in isolation.

6 strategies I learned from ‘Survivor’ for doing life in isolation.

Feel like you’re on exile beach? Wondering how you’re going to survive another day of being stuck at home? Whilst living in physical isolation from others is no game, I can’t help but notice a few parallels between the game of Survivorand this new season we’re living in. We’re all of a sudden feeling isolated from people we love spending time with. We’re all experiencing a loss of comfort, be it:…

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Taking a new step? Remember: Life doesn't need to be perfect before you take it.

Taking a new step? Remember: Life doesn’t need to be perfect before you take it.

Is it just me, or do others hold themselves to very high standards? I’m always surprised when I come to realise that I’ve been holding myself to an unrealistic subconscious rule. One I recently became aware of was: When starting something new, it is important to start well. (Well meaning: in perfect health of body and mind; energetic, healthy and feeling positive. Well also meaning: everything is…

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I've had dud presents, but there's one gift I'm always thankful for.

I’ve had dud presents, but there’s one gift I’m always thankful for.

Have you ever received a gift you didn’t particularly like? I think most of us can recall such an item. As a teenager I once received a particularly memorable pair of pants. They were hot pink with white polka dots, ankle length and billowed around my legs like clown pants… they didn’t scream vogue!  I am sure I said, “Thank you” but those words may have been hard to get out. It was a gift I…

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Are you a good listener? There's an art to holding your tongue.

Are you a good listener? There’s an art to holding your tongue.

I’ve been treating myself of late to watching previous seasons of The Crown (a Netflix drama) in anticipation for the new series about to air. In one episode, the Queen was bemoaning to her mother, the fact that she felt ill-equipped to converse with the many educated people she was required to meet. She acknowledged a desire to be able to talk more intelligently about matters of science and…

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Screen time; have you found a balance?

Screen time; have you found a balance?

Recently a controversial cartoon by Michael Leunig was published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. It depicted a mother so fixated on Instagram that she failed to see her baby had fallen out of its pram. This depiction of modern motherhood sparked outrage online as it unkindly suggested that the mother loved her phone more than her baby. Understandably, this assessment of mothers causes…

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Alison's Story

Alison’s Story

Let me introduce Alison. She is a mother of four adult children and five grandchildren. She has faithfully lived out her role as a stay-at-home mother with much gentleness and kindness; tirelessly giving her time to her family, her church and the community in which she’s been planted. She fashioned her home and garden to be a place of welcome and love and has generously shown hospitality to many…

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Are you on an emotional rollercoaster with your teen? A recent seminar had some helpful thoughts on how to survive.

Are you on an emotional rollercoaster with your teen? A recent seminar had some helpful thoughts on how to survive.

Last week I attended a seminar entitled “Surviving the Rollercoaster of Adolescence”; the speaker was Chris Hudson from of Understanding Teenagers. While I can truthfully say that I have already encountered and survived the steep climb and the initial stomach-lurching plunge of the rollercoaster that is likened to living with teens, and have definitely encountered a few curves and turns that have…

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"What are your core values?" A helpful question to ask yourself.

“What are your core values?” A helpful question to ask yourself.

In an attempt to return to a more helpful headspace, I was recently encouraged to think about what my core values are. I have engaged with this question before and found it a beneficial exercise; seeing how my life choices reflect what I truely value and then how these choices impact my day to day life. With a spate of health challenges, both for myself and the family, and a growing problem with…

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Crosswords and Adele; unlikely interests led to a better connection with my child.

Crosswords and Adele; unlikely interests led to a better connection with my child.

I have always been conscious, that in a family of more than one child, there is always the challenge of splitting your time and attention between them all equally. It is true that some kids are easier to connect with, and some kids demand more of you, and it’s possible there will be one child who likes to fly under your radar. One who will quite happily allow others to steal the limelight, so to…

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"Remember when..." What milestones do you celebrate?

“Remember when…” What milestones do you celebrate?

I like the image of a long hiking adventure, to describe how I see life’s journey. The view of a mountain range can take your breath away and to walk its course a privilege. However when you actually begin to travel the path, you quickly find there are a lot of variables that can make the journey both exhilarating and hard work. The path takes us to valleys and peaks, wilderness and beauty. Rocks…

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Ruth's Story

Ruth’s Story

Let me introduce Ruth. She is the mother of four adult children, grandmother to 16 children and great-grandmother to 24 children. She became a mother in the 1950’s (what I like to call the ‘golden era’ of stay-at-home mothers) and raised teenagers through the 1960’s and 70’s – in a period when for most mothers their workplace was their home,  and a good housewife’s motto was ‘Make do and mend’.…

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Lessons learned from a sickbed.

Lessons learned from a sickbed.

Have you ever experienced a time when your health and well being has failed you? When your body has ceased to function at its best, telling you very clearly, “I’ve had enough! Stop now, I need to rest.” It’s impossible to argue with an overtired, pained body. No amount of will power can change things; instantly healing you and making you fit for service again. While it would be preferable for…

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Are you a flexible thinker? It certainly helps when you're faced with a challenge.

Are you a flexible thinker? It certainly helps when you’re faced with a challenge.

There is a saying in my family, “Those who are flexible are not easily broken”. Whenever life has dished out circumstances I didn’t anticipate, my natural instinct has been to react negatively; getting upset at the change of plan, or frustrated with the person who didn’t behave in a way I expected them to. So it has been a real challenge for me, to swallow the family motto and be a bit more…

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The parallels between parenting and exercise; I found the similarities hilarious!

The parallels between parenting and exercise; I found the similarities hilarious!

This week, I had the most embarrassing and challenging experience I’ve had for a while; one which reminded me a little of my parenting experience. It’s been a number of years since I went regularly to an exercise class, but with my recent flare up of back pain I thought it time to be more disciplined with exercise that helps me. Having looked around at all the classes available, I chose to try…

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Is there a 'giant' you are facing today? God is a ready help in times of trouble.

Is there a ‘giant’ you are facing today? God is a ready help in times of trouble.

I had a day recently where my youngest came home from school very upset and adamant he never wanted to go back; never wanting to see a particular person again. A previous painful memory of being reprimanded at school bought back strong emotions, and when he was accused once more of doing something wrong (this time unfairly) his response was quite natural: flee as quickly as possible. The shame…

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Jan's Story

Jan’s Story

Let me introduce Jan. She is a mother of two adult children and six grandchildren. She began her motherhood journey in the Deep South of America where her husband was a pastor; moving back to Australia when their eldest boy was to begin school. During the years of her children’s schooling she juggled the roles of pastor’s wife, mother and high school teacher. When she became a grandmother she…

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The 'Mum Lecture': What every kid hates to hear but needs to have.

The ‘Mum Lecture’: What every kid hates to hear but needs to have.

To my observing children, I was my usual self; physically a little weary but fairly happy and chatty. What was unobserved to them, was the business inside my head. The conversation cogs that turned slowly, mulling over a particular issue I had with one of them. There was a talk I knew I needed to have. I was wondering how I was ever going to bring it up in conversation. I wanted to appear relaxed…

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