Multi-talented mum George McEnroe
George McEncroe is a radio host, writer and stand up comedian. Each morning she entertains Melbourne with Mix 101.1 FM's Breakfast Show, Two Women & a Metro, alongside Brigette Duclos and Tom Gleeson.
George has been engaged in an amazing diversity of roles over the years. She's been a writer for The Age, The Australian, The Big Issue, and for comedy shows The Big Bite and Life Support. She has been an investigator for The War Crimes Tribunal, a bio-ethicist researcher, an English teacher in Instanbul, a Welfare Coordinator, and a carer for teenage boys with musclar dystrophy.
She is of course also a popular stand up comedian and radio host who has won numerous awards, including the Goldie award for Best On-Air Performance while co-hosting Triple M's breakfast show The Cage in Brisbane.
Be sure to catch George's performance in the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival!
George, how many children do you have? What age/sex are they?
I have four children: Brigid (11), Joseph (9), Patrick (7) and Toby (6).
What has surprised you the most about becoming a mother?
I think the most surprising thing about being a mother is the intensity with which I love my children. I also find my children hilarious and infuriating at times. It is more exhausting than I could have ever imagined and they teach you more than any Zen master could hope to about not being attached to vanity, ego, materialism? they wreck everything but somehow make everything better as they go.
Do you miss anything about your life prior to having children?
I miss those long sleepy Saturday mornings and uninterrupted conversations. I miss time with my friends and guilt-free boozing. I miss spontaneous travel and trips to the movies.
How has your relationship with your partner changed since becoming parents?
We try not to but invariably the topic we return to when we are alone is 'the children'. We worry about the kids, we laugh about the kids, we plan for the kids. And often we argue about the best way to proceed with discipline, pocket money and friendship issues. We are very close and the kids have brought us closer, but sleeping together without a little person or two or three or four would be nice!
What advice do you have for new mothers or mothers to be?
I don't have much advice on mothering but I reckon two things helped me a lot. Having your shower before your partner leaves the house puts you in a good head space for the rest of the day, and grocery shopping without children can feel as soothing as a massage; so even if it means cruising the aisles at 9pm... do that rather alone than taking your babies.
What are you great at?
I think I am great at engaging children in games and other distractions.
What are you terrible at?
I am terrible at being calm when I have cooked something fabulous and nutritious and the kids refuse to eat it.
What do you think about 'me time'? Do you practice it, preach it or have you resigned yourself to the fact that you will have to play catch up later on??
'Me time' is a double-edged sword I reckon. I think forgetting yourself is an essential part of parenting, even though that is an unpopular thing to say. I believe the time I get really cranky and annoyed with our kids is when I allow myself to dwell on what I'd really like to be doing. Having said that, I do love to shut my bedroom door and curl up with a good book. And it is great as long as I am totally prepared for the fact that I will be interrupted. And being fit is important. I walk every day and swim when I can. I'm still fat, but I am calm and fat.
George, your CV would seem to cover several lifetimes of experiences; amongst many other roles, you've been an English teacher in Istanbul, bio-ethicist researcher, welfare coordinator, and a stand-up comedian. What do you think it is about all of these experiences that have brought you to where you are today?
I have always loved people and wanted to help people who experience disadvantage and injustice. I guess I feel very protective of people who cannot speak for themselves and for a long time I had a certain obsession with making the world a better place. Then I started to feel like I was being earnest all the time and humour helped me to laugh at the world and myself. I can never laugh at vulnerable people. (Except my own kids, and they're not that vulnerable.)
What things do you enjoy most about presenting Melbourne's radio breakfast show on Mix 101.1?
I love radio. I am very curious about people and could talk to our listeners all day. I love having a chance to discuss current events and my family stuff, and having people relate to what I am talking about. It is enormously liberating to jump on air and bang on about the stuff you have been thinking about. It's heaven.
The thought of being a stand-up comedian would terrify most people. As a stand-up comedian, do you think this role presents greater challenges for females than it does for male comedians?
I can't really say what life is like for male comedians but I think women really dwell on stuff and tend to undersell themselves across all professions. So much of comedy is about that strange mix of confidence and vulnerability and sometimes the audience is so worried about the woman on stage they can't relax enough to laugh. I think male audiences are becoming more accustomed to laughing at female comics and the sort of men who are too threatened to laugh at a funny woman, probably wouldn't laugh at a male comic either. We call those blokes tools.
What kind of Australia do you hope for in regards to the future of your children?
I would love my kids to see an Australia where indigenous mortality rates are identical to non-indigenous Australia. I would hope that they can attend university without going into debt and that they can be a generation that has fun and not just pleasure. I want them to enjoy the wilderness and the opportunities for travel that I have had. I want them to know their neighbours and to be involved in some kind of work that seeks to make life better for the most vulnerable. I guess I am still pretty earnest.
George, finally a question all mums must face (no matter who they are!) - what are you feeding your children for dinner tonight?
Tonight we are eating tuna pasta. The best all time family favourite never-fail dinner.
