
I first used the catchphrase packing for the journey when I was teaching preschool children in the 1980s and 1990s at Yarralea Children’s Centre in Alphington, Melbourne, Australia.
When I retired from teaching in 2015 I started this blog – a place to share stories I had collected over many years – stories created by children, teachers and parents through day-to-day chatter, story-play, storytelling, dictating/writing, reading, art, music and dance.

The setting for this story is Yarralea Children’s Centre.
Now
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and extended period of isolation gave me a chance to gather my thoughts. Looking back over a lifetime of 70-plus years, I am beginning to understand the way so many strands of my life are interwoven into a knotty whole.

– time, people, place, and experiences
Now, I am also packing and unpacking
stories that are deeply-rooted in the people, times and experiences that built me.