Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
I was a ‘bad’ student. I caused trouble for teachers, skipped many classes, and still passed high school with honours. I was an enigma, our Vice Principal said. He didn’t know what to do with me, and ended up inviting me to leave. He was always respectful. That young woman joined me, many years later, […]
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Reflection, not resolution, is my year end practice. What did the past year bring? What did I learn? What, if anything, was I missing? After so many years of isolation, due to illness, then COVID, we have definitely been thrown back into social interaction. I had come to love solitude. I had surrendered fully and accepted that this is where […]
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Health issues have dampened my Christmas spirit. Not that I was ever overly enthusiastic – too many memories cloud the seasons – and this year, there is no energy to decorate the house. Ric’s solution is to call in help, and I confess that even that sets me deeper into depression. How will I manage the commotion? Natasha […]
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At this late stage of life, I desire to assert my gifts to their fullest capacity –not just to blossom, but also to make a lasting statement –all life is precious, beautiful, and worthy of acknowledgment.
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Bit by bit, these Autumn days have drained me, and still I push. First there was the trip to Toronto for tests (none of them revealing answers), then; we decided to host Thanksgiving, which involved three days of preparation (I thought I’d be okay if I did most of the work in advance), and then; […]
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Last time I was in the hospital, the admitting doctor asked me about a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order. “Have you had the opportunity to discuss it with a loved one?” she asked. “Of course. No heroic measures!” I emphasized. “I’ve spent the last ten years living with chronic disease; I have no aspiration to […]
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Days before she turned 65, Mom confessed that she suspected she had cancer. “I’m thinking about just letting it take me,” she said. There were many things I wanted to say in that moment, such as: You should be discussing this with a therapist and not your daughter, but; this was the nature of our […]
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“You need to rest, because tomorrow is your birthday.” There is talk of baking a cake and maybe preparing food for visitors. My birthday fell on a weekday, so I told our new guests I will likely not have visitors – everyone will be working. They shrugged: “Maybe…” Ric and I have accepted a new […]
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Conceived in the midst of unbearable psychological drama, I was the reason for my mother’s marriage to my father – a relationship that would cause us all great pain over the years. Many losses would follow – deaths of grandparents and a favourite uncle, two fires resulting in the loss of five children.I grew up […]
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One Woman's Quest II 