Alison

My name is Alison, I have been very fortunate in my life having had a happy childhood complete with two parents and four siblings. My parents had good Christian values and taught their children to be respectful of everyone. They had a loving marriage and were liberal in their thinking and very charitable to others. Those values are the basis of the way I think and act.

My failing is that I am too naive and see people through rose coloured glasses, I take people at face value and I am often aghast when someone points out a negative aspect of someone's character that I had not recognised. I love to socialise but equally I love to take a quiet walk along the beach with my husband. I enjoy sewing and reading and the friendships I have developed with other like minded people. I like to go bushwalking as long as it is not up hill as I am not too fit! I love to cook, and I have an appreciative family who like anything I produce.

My personal philosophy

I am a Catholic and I derive a lot of comfort from my religion; I would not call myself religious at all, I go to mass on Sundays but that is as much about being part of a friendly loving community as it is praying. I get a lot of comfort from knowing that God is there to help me if I need to call upon him for support. I do volunteer work helping those who may need assistance in hard times because I know that, there but by the grace of God go I.

I am very much a fatalist, not a worrier; if it is going to happen it will and all the worrying will not alter the course of events. I have a wonderful support in my husband and talking things through with him can often put things into perspective so they do not seem as insurmountable. I enjoy exploring new experiences although, unlike my sister, I usually stay within my comfort zone. I do not turn to friends if something goes wrong in my life preferring to keep any problems within the family.

My dreams for 2020 women

For women in the future to have a better status in the community means that there should be more emphasis placed on education from within the family that is teaching good old fashioned values such as respect for each other.

From a very early age children need to learn the simple lessons in sharing, in communicating in a non violent way, being educated in respecting peoples rights. Parents need to demand from the schools education which has these values drummed into their students. From this respect of others can come the acceptance of equality of the sexes.

The Catholic church is failing badly in this area with its hierarchy being stuck in the dark ages, we need to have a complete change on how they view women. I have seen this happening at the grass roots in some churches where women have been given equal roles within their local church but it has a long way to go before this filters up to the top and into the teachings of their priests.

People who have inspired me

Sue, my best friend

My best friend, whom I have known since school, has multiple sclerosis which has left her bed ridden since she was 40. Sue has been an inspiration to me as from the day of diagnosis; she said if I had to get any disease MS is is one of the better ones as you get a lot of support from the MS society.  She has always been a fighter and even though now she is unable to feed herself, her speech and mind are not what they used to be she can still have a laugh and be interested in others.

Sue puts my troubles in life into perspective and they pale into insignificance compared to what she has had to cope with so it is her acceptance of her illness that teaches me humility and to be very grateful for the life I have been dealt.

My father

My father also has played a huge role in my life; I have been lucky in that the man I married has many traits like my father. Dad was the most generous man I have ever meet. He gave of his time to his family, we would go on a family picnic every weekend, he never missed any of the important events in our lives.

He taught us valuable lessons that I still live by, lessons such as giving respect to your fellowman no matter what they have done; seeing life from the other person's point of view; that certain circumstances can change the way someone acts, so be understanding, not judgemental.

The group of ten

Every year for the past 20 years I meet with a group of ten women on a weekend retreat. The weekend has a religious basis but the subject matter is very varied. We have opened up ourselves to each other discussing relationships, problems and family; we have laughed and cried as we reveal things to each other we would not even tell our partners.

We see each other occasionally other than that the weekend and would not call each other best friends but we have this unique bond.

These weekends are very grounding for me as they enable me to explore aspects of my self that I would not normally indulge in doing. They make me see my own character traits and flaws, which gives me a better insight into my relationship with other people.

My proudest accomplishment

My proudest accomplishment has been my two beautiful children and my adorable grand children.

My life so far

I was born in Australia to a middle class family and attended a strict all girls school in Victoria where I completed my schooling. I went on to teacher's college but did not finish my studies as I became pregnant at 19. I had a shotgun wedding as it was called in those days and I can happily report I am still married to the same man 39 years later.

It was at 19 that I started making my own choices in life as my parents were living in another state and I only saw them once or twice a year.

Ross and I had very little knowledge on how to raise children but just followed the example of how our parents raised us. I don't how how they managed to turn out to be such beautiful adults – more by good luck than good parenting I am sure.

We are retired now, but in the last ten years of my husbands career we got the opportunity to work overseas in India and the Philippines for two years in each country. I loved the experience and made a lot of new and lasting friendships as well as learning some great skills. In India I was in a job which entailed making sure those new families who arrived from Australia settled in well and understood the cultural norms. In the Philippines I was a grocery store manager, a job I had no experience in but I thoroughly enjoyed.

The jobs I have held in Australia have always been in the disability field from teaching those people with a severe disability to placing people with a disability in employment. I have had many wonderful experiences and have been lucky as I have always loved my work.