Editor’s letter

My daughter is growing up so fast. She’s finished exams and is juggling four part-time jobs and a busy social life now school’s out for summer.

Oh yes, those long high school holidays. I remember them only too well. With too much time on your hands, you could get up to all sorts of mischief. And that’s exactly why I’ve encouraged my girl to keep busy, busy, busy!

When I was sweet 16 like Cleo, my mother sent me to Dunedin to work in Granddad’s pharmacy for the entire holidays. I loved both my grandparents dearly, and it was great to get a little brown pay packet each week, but two months was a very long time to be away from my friends.

I was reminiscing about my Dunedin days with two gorgeous ladies over lunch last week. You might recall that we recently ran a prize to find Woman’s Day’s ultimate super fan as part of our 30th birthday celebrations.

Well, it was hard to pick a winner from the amazing entries, but Janelle from Wellington’s letter touched me. She had cherished memories of being a little girl sitting in her mum’s home hair salon and flicking through the magazine. Mum Lorraine would look over her shoulder and together they’d admire all the glam gowns and stars – and Janelle would often ask her to copy their hairstyles!

Now a busy working mum herself, getting time to kick back with a Woman’sDay is a real treat for Janelle – and reminds her of the lovely one-on-one bonding time she had with her mum.

When she got the call to say she’d won the prize to come up to visit Woman’s Day and live like a star for a day, there was only one person she wanted to bring – her mum, who flew up from Dunedin.

Seeing the affection and love between them was a thrill. I hope Cleo and I have a magic relationship like Janelle and Lorraine’s in years to come. And if things go pear-shaped this summer, I’m thrilled to know someone in Dunedin that I can send her to!