Dear Younger Self, On Our Birthday

July 25, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

Saw a picture of you today – us, just approaching sixteen – and instantly recognized the awkwardness with which you carry yourself: the painful self-consciousness, never knowing quite where you fit in or even if you are good enough to be in the picture. Since today is our birthday, I decided to dedicate this post […]

Illness, Life’s Intruder

July 7, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

Before illness (ME/CFS), I had my life lined up, like a shopkeeper perfectly aligning her shelves, ready to get down to business. One more course and I would be at the top pay scale, qualified to fill many shoes in the education field. I had landed my dreamed-for job in Special Education, and was starting […]

Table Talk – A Dream Guide

June 28, 2016.Reading time 9 minutes.

I dream that Ric has removed our dining table. There has been no discussion, no explanation, just an empty space to mark his actions. Even in my dreams, I am asking questions: Is he having it repaired, or replacing it? Surely, not replacing, I think, as the table was his mother’s. I conclude that all […]

Salmon Intentions or Battle of the Can

May 16, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

A single onion, its papery crisp coating still intact, sits on a small cutting board, signalling intent. Beside it, a sharp-edged knife, and an unopened can of salmon. It is the salmon can that has turned this scenario from an action shot to a still-life. I had planned to have it for dinner last night […]

First Hurdle Cleared

May 12, 2016.Reading time 1 minute.

Just returned from the hospital, having left my husband in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit. He was not transferred to the unit until after 9:00 pm, so while I was able to see and touch him, he was not yet conscious. It is hard to pinpoint the gamut of emotions that have coursed through me […]

Emotional Backlash (Or Happy F*@#king Mother’s Day)

May 9, 2016.Reading time 6 minutes.

This post is hard to write, however; I have no where else to vent, and need desperately to process what has happened. Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and inadvertently my two daughters and I had booked a mani-pedi for that date, the original intention being one last pampering for my middle daughter before she goes into […]

Hawk Inspired

March 10, 2016.Reading time 13 minutes.

(A short story; fiction.) The grey days are the hardest; you know the ones, when the clouds, so full of tears, are working themselves up to a full-blown cry. My projection, I know, but I prefer to think that the weather mirrors my own inner gloom. I am less alone that way. This winter has […]

Chickadees in the House

A friend from my poetry circle honoured me with a birdhouse painted with Ukrainian colours. John has since passed away, and this summer we were finally able to give the birdhouse a home in our garden. Happy to say, John, that the chickadees have settled in and I am joyfully reminded of you everyday.

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 […]