They say children change your life - this is an understatement.

I've had the most amazing 10 months discovering that my son loves to hear just two songs from me to help him get to sleep (on repeat), he does like banana but only if his nan feeds it to him, and there is not a better sound in the world than your child laughing because you yawned (it's like he knows he is the cause of the tiredness).

I'm very thankful to The Examiner's deputy editor Corey Martin for leading the newsroom with integrity and passion. His dedication to the role allowed me to fully focus on motherhood - for that, I will be forever grateful.

There were moments in my absence that I longed to be back in the newsroom - a change of leadership in Tasmania and a global pandemic come straight to mind.

To rejoin the newsroom as Tasmania moves into recovery mode is serendipitous.

I'm looking forward to hearing and reconnecting with the business community and social services to discover how we can support a speedy and detailed recovery process for the North.

Since my return, I'm also working on a candidate forum online for the upcoming Rosevears election (details to come) and launching a dedicated court/crime media channel (reasons and structure to be revealed in coming days).

Thank you for your ongoing support of local journalism.

Until next week,