OCTOBER 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 81
C
ourtenay,our
youngestdaughter,
is stayingwithus
fora while.Like
me,she’sa morning
person.Giveus 15 minutesat 6am
andwe’llhavebedsmade,emails
checked,dishwasheremptied,cat
fedandlunchpacked.
Fiveminutesmoreandwe’reat
thebusstopin plentyoftimefor
the7.05tothecity.Wemaybethe
onlyonesin thefamilytohaveseen
a sunrise.
Mostof “ClanMcDermott”is like
theMOTH(TheManoftheHouse).
Theymarchtoa slowerdrum.For
them,nosunrise,howeverglorious,
beats 10 moreminutesin bed.
TheMOTHremindshisdaughters
ofsomethinghismumusedtotelltheir
auntieswhentheyweregrowingupin
theheatofnorthernNewSouthWales.
“Neverchaseaftera manora tram.
ILLUSTRATION BY MARISA MOREA @ILLUSTRATIONROOM.COM.AU. There’s always another one alongin
Age of glory
A visitfromtheyoungestbringsreflectiononhowthe
morethingschange, the more they stay the same.WithPATMcDERMOTTin heavytraffic.Kidsarguingand
pinchingin thebackseatwhere
I couldn’treachthem.Kidspulling
onsocks,windingtiesaroundtheir
necksandhandingmeoverdue
permissionslipstosignat the
nextredlight.
Everybodytalkingat once.
Courtenay,whowasa chatterbox
whenshewasfive,doesn’tliketotalk
in themorningsnow.Shesaystheonly
peoplehavingconversationsat 7am
aredairyfarmers,andthey’retalking
totheircows,nottheirmothers.
“Idon’tknowhowshelooksso
goodsoearlyin theday,”I whispered
totheMOTHaswewatchedher
leaveforwork.
“She’syoung,she’sbeautifulandshe
hasa biggerwardrobethanMeghan
Markle!Ofcourseshelooksgreat!”
hesaidproudly.
Herbathroomis prettyspecial,
too.I tiptoedin toborrowsome
toothpasteandfoundanAladdin’s
caveofbeautyproducts!Should
I trysome?I scannedtheshelves.
PureClaySoothingMask.Sounds
nicebutmayrequirea chisel
toremove.
ClarinsCompleteAgeControl
Concentrate.Thisis morelikeit.Not
sureif you’resupposedtodrinkit or
putit onyourface.Mightdoboth.
ArbonneIntelligencePollution
Defense.Is thisanythinglikejoining
thearmy?BecauseI lookterriblein
greenfatigues.
SuperfoodSaladGreenClayDetox
MaskwithCoconut
Water,Wildberry
Harvest,Kale&
Spinach.Thiscan’t
beforyourface!It
mustbelunch.I’ll
asktheMOTHfor
a winethatgoes
wellwithspinach.
IntheendI borroweda tubeof
Anti-AgeingCleansingGel.It’s
supposedtoworkovernightand
Courtenaywon’tneedit foryears.
I expecttolook 25 byTuesday.
NotforthefirsttimeI thankheaven
formythreelittlegirls.
They’vegrownupin the most
delightful way.AW W10 minutes!”TheMOTH
insiststhatappliesto
almosteverything.
Whenthechildrenwere
growingup,otherfamilies
toreoutthedoorearlytobeontime
forfootytraining,netballpracticeand
thefirstbell.The
McDermottswould
buttermoretoast.
Thenthey’dmosey
aroundlooking
forlastnight’s
homeworkand
today’scleanshirts.
Onemorning,
whileputtingPatrick’sproject,“Beer
CansoftheBritishEmpire”,carefully
intotheboot,I heardmyselfsay,
“RemembertotellMissHolt
howmuchbeeryourdaddrankto
getallthesecans!It’s8.45amand
he’sstillasleep.”
A smallpartofmemissesthe
morning school run. Being stuck“I don’t know how
she looks so good so
early in the day.”
Family matters