A – Anger is something I struggle with these days.
B – Books are the basis of most of my hobbies.
C – Clare is my maiden name.
D – de Leeuw (lower case ’d’) is my married name – Dutch for ‘the lion’.
E – English-Welsh-Scottish is my estimated ancestral background.
F – Fuck I love swear words.
G – Geraldton, Western Australia, is where I was born.
H – Home is where I birthed both my babies – one accidentally, one intentionally.
I – Islands are my ideal holiday.
J – Japan, I lived in for one year.
K – Karissa is my first name.
L – Legacy, and leaving a loving and learned one, is part of what drives me.
M – Married to a man who merrily mocks me and masterfully manages my meltdowns.
N – Nine is the number of siblings I have.
O – Onkaparinga is the South Australian city (council) I live in.
P – Pet is Sachi, our grey Burmese cat. (Her name means happiness in Japanese.)
Q – Quiet is something I treasure.
R – Richmond, New South Wales, is where I was raised by my mum.
S – Starsign is Cancer (ruled by the moon).
T – Teaching (primary), I am studying a masters in to work in public school wellbeing.
U – Under my bed is a fucking mess.
V – Very tired (should go to bed but want to write).
W – Walking is my favourite exercise and way to withdraw from my worries.
X – X-rays I’ve had: broken wrist and fractured collarbone (playing with said siblings).
Y – Yoga is one of the ways I unwind my body and mind.
Z – “zz” in my signature sign-off has a double meaning: it’s both the sleep 💤 symbol and a text message symbol that my husband and I made up when we started dating and still use eight and a half years later: kiss plus hug (x + o = zz) lol.