Making every moment count
It’s almost immediately clear when you meet Bernadine Oliver-Kerby that poker is not the game for her. It’s not that she isn’t competitive – as a long-time sports lover her motto is, “You don’t take part just to take part; if I’m on your team, I’m going to want to win.”
It’s just that she absolutely does not have a poker face – if she feels it, she shows it. During our Australian Women’s Weekly chat, myriad emotions are displayed across that extremely recognisable face. There is a lot of joy in the life of Bernadine: she has a healthy, loving family and a thriving career that is almost threatening to bubble over on any given day. But she has also known a tremendous amount of loss in her 47 years. As a result, she is almost evangelical about squeezing the life out of every single day – she knows, all too well, that time is limited, and that things can change in a second.
On the day we meet, Bernadine has been up since 4am – as she has been every weekday for the past 15 years. She has a love/hate relationship with her working hours: she loves
