Editor’s Letter: Georgie

Here’s a question: looking back on your life, what has been your favourite decade? I know you're not about to hit 90 or anything. But I often ask my parents this question and it was the topic of conversation at a family get together over the weekend...

According to my step-dad who is in his 60s, this is the best decade of his life. And I have to say, many of the 60-something year olds I know do seem to be doing a lot of travelling. My mum and step-dad just have just returned from the Galápagos Islands – I thought we were supposed to be the young, adventurous ones? We just got back from Dubbo zoo and I thought that was off the beaten track (it is a six hour car journey with kids). My parents get to spend time with their grandchildren, spoilt them with ice-cream, then hand them back loaded with sugar for us to try and put to bed. Being in your 60s sounds rather lovely, actually. As the years seem to fly by faster and faster, I do spend a lot of time reflecting. I feel nostalgic for different times in my life. Times when I lived abroad. Or when I was free to do as I pleased.

So what has been the best decade of my life? While there have been many challenges to overcome, the answer is without a doubt my 30s, because I married my husband Mark and had two children. Meeting my children for the first time trumps everything I’ve ever done. They were the two best days of my life – and they happened just 17 months apart. Nothing will ever compare to the moment your newborn baby is placed on your chest. It’s an out of body experience and the love and pure joy that rushes over you is mind-blowing. If only I could bottle those love hormones! You stare at them for hours on end, listening to their cute noises and breathing in their sweet, intoxicating smell. Nothing will ever compare to this. EVER.

My teens? We grew up in the suburbs and had a big garden with lots of trees to climb...

I loved animals and had everything growing up – dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish, guinea pigs (I was always coming home from the local pet shop with something else to look after). Though like most teens, at times I wasn’t terribly sure of myself. I went to a very academic school, which didn’t seem overly impressed by my interest in art or the fact that I has memorised the entire movie script of Clueless. Yet towards the end of my schooling, I put my head down and started studying and I didn’t stop. I’ll never forget the day I got my HSC result over the phone. When I heard my mark, I thought I’d entered the wrong information in. Surely that couldn’t be my mark? It was and I cried and cried with happiness. My mum and dad always taught me to work hard. And I certainly worked hard during my last year. I proved to my school that girls who are creative are smart too. I wish more academic schools celebrated creativity.

My parents got divorced when I was a teenager. That was a sad time for everyone, but as I learnt over the years, I didn’t need them to be together to make me happy, I just needed them to love me, which they did unconditionally. I learnt that love and friendship is everything. Many of the friends I made when I was a teenager (and younger) have stayed with me. Some of my closest friends I’ve known for over 25 years. We’ve gone through school together, we’ve travelled together and now we’re experiencing motherhood together. We’ll be together till the end.

I also got a dolphin tattooed onto my hip in Madrid when I was 18. It’s so embarrassingly cliche, isn’t it? And I really need to get it removed one of these days, although secretly it’s a nice reminder of my travels, even if it looks ridiculous.

My 20s? Well, the great thing about hitting your 20s is, suddenly there’s a big wide world out there to explore...

I took a year off after school and went travelling. Then in my mid-20s, I travelled again. I lived in London and then Dubai. My 20s were all about travelling, studying, falling in and out of love, building my career and generally having fun. When I moved home from Dubai at 27, I was ready to settle down. I’d had my fun, I wanted to meet someone and get married. I met my now husband the year after I returned. We were that on again, off again couple and then we were on. And we’ve stayed on ever since. We got two dogs and at the time (aged 28) I thought it was a good way to ease into parenthood. Get a dog – it’ll be just like caring for a kid. For the record, getting a dog does not train you to be a parent. It doesn’t even come close.

In my 30s, I haven’t travelled a lot and that’s ok, because one day soon I will take our girls around the world...

I haven’t partied much and that’s fine, because I’m really, really tired and can’t be bothered. I’ve walked away from my dream job and launched The Grace Tales, which is now the perfect job for me. At times, I’ve felt like I lost the plot and couldn’t cope. I’ve cried after sleepless nights or when it all seems too much. But then it would be a new day and things would seem ok again.

I’m now 34 and it’s all a little blurry to be honest...

I’ve never had so little sleep, but I’m more secure with who I am than ever before. The things that I used to worry about don’t even phase me. I gave up on things such as body issues in my mid-20s. They’re a waste of time – just eat the dessert and enjoy it, you only live once.

I lost myself when I became a mother, then found myself again. I’m not the same person I was before I had kids. I’ll never be that person again. And I’m ok with that. Life changes. People change. Children will change you. Life will be so much richer than it was and you’ll have little people in your life who will cuddle up to you like a koala and then eventually start talking and say things like “I love you mummy”.

I hear your 40s are FUN...

I’m excited about the future but I’m focusing on the present. And while I feel like I’ve been a mother for longer than three and a half years – and sometimes look at myself and feel I’ve aged 10 years – something a great friend of my mothers said to me on the weekend has stuck: “you have so far to go. This is just the beginning.” She’s right. My journey as a mother is only just getting started. I have so far to go and so much to learn, and I’m taking it one day at a time. So what is the best decade of your life? The one you’re living, so remember to enjoy the present.

So what's happening on the site this week?

New York-based Australian photographer Hallie Burton has photographed Julie Turkel Abrahamson in her chic loft-style adobe. We loved chatting to the founder of luxury kids consignment website Girls On Greenwich and hope you love her story too! We’ve also profiled the dynamic Melbourne-based Felicity Rodgers from bespoke uniform business Cargo Crew. Read about how she’s reinventing the modern uniform (and dressing Gwyneth Paltrow!). We were also given an exclusive look at childrenswear brand Tutu Du Monde’s recently celebrity-studded high tea in LA (Rebecca Gayheart Dane, Ellen Pompeo and Tori Spelling attended along with C magazine founder Jennifer Hale, fashion journalist Louise Roe and the glamorous French baker Elizabeth Colling). We’ve also got plenty of fashion news this week. If you’re pregnant, you need these pieces in your life. And if you’ve got a tiny tot and looking for some new swimwear, you’ll love Minnow Swim. Finally, we give you the lowdown on the pram of the moment, Cybex’s Priam pushchair. Talk about chic. Read why we love it here. Have a great week and shoot me through your feedback or suggestions for the site. I always love hearing from our readers. And remember, we post daily now so there’s always something new up on the site.

Georgie xx

Photo: Grace Alyssa Kyo