Keep Going

February 13, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Lesia, our Ukrainian guest, wanted to take up knitting again after a career too busy for hobbies. So, Ric bought both of us needles and wool for Christmas and my neighbour offered to hold a knitting circle where we could learn and practice English. Lesia was miles ahead of me from the start, her patience […]

Something to Love

June 1, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

I met a woman once, so debilitated by disease that my impulse was to recoil. Then I remembered the words of one of my teachers: “There is something to love about everyone”, and I checked myself, and realized that this woman must have an incredibly strong will to live. I told her so, and noted […]

After the fear…

May 25, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Changing the Lens

March 7, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Reading through old journals, so much focuses on lack of money. I express guilt for not providing enough as a single mother, anger for being abandoned by my children’s father, and shame for having to rely on others. The feelings still linger. And then I hear my father’s voice: “The good Lord always provides.” And […]

Where is Home?

February 28, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

I ask my three-year-old self to show me her home, and she points to the floor beneath the formica-topped table in the kitchen. There, caged within the chrome legs of table and chairs, she is out of the path of adult legs, whose movements are as unpredictable as their moods. I ask my four-year-old self […]

Sculpting

January 2, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

The best openings are the one’s we carve for ourselves. We spent New Year’s Eve reminiscing about eighteen years of togetherness. Stayed up past midnight, and talked about our future. Hope coloured our words. Sculpting has been on my mind – not literally, but in the sense of chipping away at the outer facade to […]

Friends are Blessings

November 7, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Over brunch, my new acquaintance and I discover we have a lot in common – both former teachers, interested in art and poetry, with a love birds. She is just getting back into life after a long stint of caring for a sick husband, who died a year ago. I am finding my footing in […]

Blessings Plus a Year

July 25, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Sunflowers and chocolates kick off my birthday week. Delivered by daughter and her family made it all the more special. I share my birthday month with now seven-year-old Sloane and our youngest, so July is filled with blessings. We are adjusting to the role reversals here – I now drive Ric to appointments, and do […]

Creativity Is A Blessing

July 18, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Ideas follow me around like little children tugging on my pant leg, begging attention. I’ve been brushing them aside, too unwell to give any them any energy, but with summer’s arrival and pending visits at Grandma’s camp, I push myself to get out the paints. Untrained myself, I watch videos to gain knowledge and inspiration. […]

Blessing of Serenity

July 4, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Settling in a small town, especially a senior’s community, is not something I would have ever envisioned, and yet; here we are. Funny how life works like that, and thank goodness it does. I appreciate this place that we have landed more and more each day. It has not been without difficulty, this move away […]