Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
FaceTime, phone calls and videos exchanged cannot replace in-person chats and hugs, especially when the recipients are grandchildren. I miss chasing eighteen-month-old Auggie around the house, or cuddling with Sloane to “watch something”, or exploring the million why’s of Finn. I miss my grown children, family and friends whom I value deeply. Homecoming, I know, […]
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“Varnish” I said aloud, rolling the word over my tongue as if we were new acquaintances. “What’s that you said, Mom?” My daughter, breezing through the kitchen, found me standing at the counter, gazing out the window. She was gone before I could answer. They were used to me by now, my family. How long […]
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The ‘misspent’ years of my youth were dedicated to sneaking into blues bars, underage, to catch the soulful music of Muddy Waters, Downchild Blues Band, and even B.B. King himself. I was hooked on blues, so the thought of visiting Memphis thrilled me. Beale Street was top of my list of ‘must sees’. To kick […]
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November 16, 2012, I penned: Cancer, it turns out, it is a powerful proponent of simplicity. Faced with uncertainty, one is forced to examine the complexities of life and cull. Our lives are reduced to three priorities: – Making healthy choices – Caring for relationships – Reducing financial burden. Necessity demands that any extraneous commotion […]
Read MoreMaking sense of chaos is difficult for young minds, and yet, often necessary for survival. I could not have recited the list of causes for my family’s particular brand of dysfunction, I just knew from an early age that I needed to be on guard. So I developed what I called ‘body radar’. My parents […]
Read MoreMy living room has beautiful big picture windows facing two directions, allotting me a full view of the neighbour’s front gardens to the north, and the constant comings and goings on the street in front of the house. Lying on the couch with my morning cup of tea is how I like to greet the […]
Read MoreThe house creaks and cracks with such ferociousness, I am unable to sleep. Perhaps it does not like the starkness of bare walls, the absence of furniture, the finality of boxes stacked and sealed. It is my last night here – just myself, a king sized bed and a complaining house. So much has changed […]
Read MoreThe house is sold. We have less than thirty days to clear out, which considering we are moving into our motor home, means to get rid of everything. It’s a year ahead of schedule, I admit, but given the hot real estate market, I agreed to list the house for a month and see if […]
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“I’ll cover the lying down!” I tell the two strangers, who have just entered my bedroom assessing what needs to be moved. “Good idea!” the tall, lanky one named Josh answers. The outside air is heavy with the threat of a downpour. Inside I pull a blanket over my prone body. I hear the grunts […]
Read MoreWedged between one satisfactorily completed task and an overload of unfinished chores, I am a mess. We have decided to sell the house, and on the advice of stagers, are tearing everything apart, sorting into three piles: garbage, Goodwill, and keep/store. Purging, we are discovering, is exhausting. In order to do some touch up paint […]
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One Woman's Quest II 