Compassion Needed

May 19, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Our next door neighbour confides that he has two weeks to a month to a live. “You’ll be seeing lots of my daughter around,” he says with his customary big grin. I take his frail hand in mine and offer condolences. “I’m not afraid of dying; it’s what happens leading up to that moment that […]

We Canadians Are So Polite

May 19, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(This sign is posted in the window of a local café. I submit it here for Proscenium’s Friday Follies, not to suggest that it is folly, but just that it struck my funny bone, as it depicts the stereotypical Canadian politeness.)

Pink!

May 17, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Thanks to the creative suggestions on my Birthday Art post, I have created this series of watercolour images for my soon-to-be three-year-old granddaughter. Pink is my world, is her motto.

Stratford On Avon (Ontario)

May 16, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Yes, Ontario has its own Stratford on Avon, complete with a Festival Theatre featuring Shakespearean works. I’ve been coming here to see plays since 1967, so it holds a special place in my heart. Along the Avon River, in the theatre district, is parkland. Quaint bridges link small islands, and allow tourists to stroll or […]

Feathers

May 15, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: feathers

Rain on Me

May 14, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Stopping at a local nursery on a rainy day, I am struck by how the raindrops add extra texture to the simplest of plants. And I think: a little water in our lives helps us grow. (For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: raindrops)

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #48: Compassion

May 13, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

“Compassion becomes real when we recognizeour shared humanity.” – Pema Chödrön. As a young woman, I braced myself against the world by adhering to black and whites – a judgmental stance that was not conducive to relationship building. More self-protective than self-righteous, this attitude only served as a wall, confining me to loneliness. Then in […]

Framing Moments

May 12, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

“I’m going no matter what!” Two nights of no sleep has made me even more determined to live life, so I shower, fuss with my hair, and even put on makeup. Clothes are not comfortable right now, so I choose a skirt made from cotton t-shirt material and dress it up with a blouse, and […]

Delusions of Grandeur, or…?

May 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Body dysmorphia? For Proscenium’s Friday Follies

Chutes and Ladders

May 11, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Chutes and ladders brings to mind childhood: playgrounds backyards, and board games: For Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Chutes and Ladders.

This Life A Road

This life a road –the way preparedsigns to guide me,and still, I get lost. Construction, distraction,disobedience – throw me off –tendency to choose tougher routes,broken down and been sidelined And yet, the road still beckons,invites progression, thrills.A rolling stone gathers no moss,my father liked to say, and so… I push ahead, keep motoring,trust the obstacles […]

Wings

(Written during my bedbound years with ME/CFS)

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

May is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis awareness month. Also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, this disease is characterized by exhaustion after exertion. The exertion can be physical -taking a shower; emotional – worrying or obsessing; or mental- filling out forms. The best source of information about ME/cfs, as we call it, is the Bateman Horne Center. They […]