Sam Mac's letter to all stay-at-home parents as he returns to Sunrise weather after ‘Dad leave'
Dear stay-at-home parents, I see you, I feel you and I salute you!
In fact, I hereby nominate ALL OF YOU for an Order of Australia medal.
I've just completed* (*= narrowly survived) my block of 'Dad Leave' where I was primary carer for our two beautiful girls while my darling fiancée returned to work.
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Sleep schedules, meal prep, nappy changes, packing the snacks, cleaning the high chair, sterilising the bottles, washing the onesies, wrestling the toddler to the ground in a failed attempt to put her shoes on, the ordeal of just trying to get them out the door to the park, the ordeal of just trying to get them to LEAVE the park.
It's meltdown after meltdown after meltdown, and that's just me. Am I right?!
Wowsers. The PTSD is real. I'm having flashbacks to the gourmet vegetarian omelettes I lovingly prepared the girls in week one.
This was a restaurant quality dish cooked to perfection and delightfully garnished and plated.
Both omelettes were aggressively thrown on the floor before I'd even turned the cooktop off. I can still hear the splat sound.
I remember taking a few deep breaths and writing an entry in my gratitude journal about how blessed I was to have this quality time with them.
Kidding, I hid in the pantry and cried. When I eventually emerged from the pantry the toddler was eating purple play-doh.
But here's the thing about parenting: Even on the worst days, there's little glimmers of magic. Little moments that you hold onto and treasure forever.
Mabel, our youngest, is nine months old and this has been such a sweet spot for milestones.
While I've been on 'Dad Leave' Mabel has started crawling, learnt how to wave and even said her first word: 'Dadda'! (Without this precious time, I may not have been able to successfully brainwash her).
Oh, and I've experienced some milestones of my own.
I've grown a beard for the first time in my life, my showers have been reduced from daily to weekly, I found my first grey hair and most shockingly of all, I became a coffee drinker (it was that or wine).
Those changes might sound normal to you, but anyone who knows me will agree this is a monumental shift. This is survival.
As my 'Dad Leave' comes to an end, It's time to return to my job as TV Weatherman for Sunrise, Australia's number one breakfast show.
My workdays start at 3.30am where I'm on live television every morning interviewing people from all walks of life and I do approximately 130 flights per year.
Now, I've intentionally left the following statement til the end of my article in the slight hope my fiancée doesn't see it, but here goes….being a stay at home parent is harder than working full time!
There! I said it.
Stay at home parents don't get a lunch break, there's no sick days, not even a Sunday sleep in. It's an express train of emotions and never ending tasks.
I'm fully aware making that statement, in writing, will come back to haunt me and will be Bec's secret weapon to win countless arguments in our future, but it had to be said.
If you are the stay at home parent, I welcome you to share this article with your partner (just ideally not with mine…I'm clinging onto the hope that statement somehow flies under her radar)
And while I'm speaking my truth, I should point out, I ate that omelette off the floor.
Two hours after it was cooked. That's when I knew it was time to go back to 'work'. For a well earned break.
My apologies in advance to Seven Network who can expect to be charged an excess baggage fee for all of my upcoming flights when airport staff see what I'm packing under my eyes right now. Oh boy. Daddy needs a nap.
In closing, I feel closer than ever to my girls, and they're both bloody amazing.
I also feel more connected to my fiancée. My admiration for her (and for all stay at home parents) has entered another stratosphere.
You are the real MVP's. The hardest and most rewarding role in the world.
I encourage more workplaces, and particularly more Dads to take on the primary carer role for a stint if you can.
It will change you. And your family will be all the better for it.
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Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat. From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon. "If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP. "Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out." It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope. His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening. "An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said. "I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'." After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom. Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports. He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders. Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said. "If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it. "If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him. "Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people." It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour. "I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago. Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts. Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community. Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers. Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family. Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat. From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon. "If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP. "Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out." It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope. His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening. "An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said. "I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'." After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom. Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports. He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders. Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said. "If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it. "If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him. "Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people." It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour. "I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago. Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts. Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community. Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers. Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family. Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat. From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon. "If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP. "Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out." It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope. His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening. "An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said. "I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'." After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom. Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports. He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders. Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said. "If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it. "If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him. "Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people." It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour. "I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago. Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts. Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community. Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers. Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.
West Australian
4 days ago
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The horse listener: a life spent teaching kids to ride
Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat. From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon. "If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP. "Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out." It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope. His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening. "An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said. "I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'." After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom. Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports. He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders. Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said. "If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it. "If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him. "Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people." It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour. "I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago. Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts. Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community. Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers. Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.
