Stop the Spinning

May 24, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Call it circling, call it dancing, it’s all the same – I end up at the same point. Caught between the idealism of expectation and the harshness of reality. One has lofty goals, the other invites limitations. I once believed, not in circles, but in spirals – a continual movement marking progress. Now, with time […]

Art That Warms the Heart

May 22, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

What I miss most right now is sharing art time with my granddaughters. These creations are the work of seven-year-old Sloane. (For Cee’s On The Hunt For Joy: Let kids decorate.)

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #96: circling

May 18, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I reach out to Mother only to discover she is missing; she has gone in search of me.The dream unsettles me. I capture the essence by writing it down, then set the words aside, not knowing where to begin. The sorrow lingers. I remember the moment I knew I’d been displaced in my mother’s life. […]

Weaving Bits and Pieces

May 17, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Nuances of nostalgiajaggedsuccumbingcubesunsuspectingnourishmentmoving and openingI distractWe grappleunder constructionmeaning percolatesthis is lifethese bits and pieces of aresurrectiondragons and time machinesticket stubsscattered. Every week I challenge you with a focus, and every week you amaze. ‘Bits and pieces’ was the prompt this week, and the diverse responses, woven together, created this glimpse of life’s bits and pieces. […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #95: bits and pieces

May 11, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“What’s happening with your camera?” I asked Ric on our last outing. He has a new one, and left the old one for repair, possibly passing it on to me. “It’s lost in the pandemic.” “Oh,… yeah.” Processing the backload of photos, I come across pics of my mom from our last visit, before her […]

A Mother’s Education

May 10, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

By the time she was three, my first daughter, an early talker, had shared that people have colours around them, that I would eventually have three children, and not to worry about those who died, for they come back like she did. “She’s freaking me out,” I told a cousin of mine. “I don’t know […]

Too Wet To Play

May 8, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(For Lens-Artists Challenge: All wet.)

Expressions

May 6, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Countenance displays trutha smiling pant conveys contentment A ready smile invites a visitspreads a familial warmth A furrowed brow suggests concerna child’s uncertainty during lockdown. Words can offer intentbut expression speaks so much more. (For Cee’s Black & White Photo challenge: Heads or facial features.)

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #95: What a Child Knows

May 4, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I am five. Chronologically, I am five. Inside, I feel as old as I’ll ever be. I am free of the burdens and distractions that surround me, and often, alone. I have a sense of something I can’t quite articulate – purpose, mingled with wisdom; trust, and a connection larger than me. I do not […]

Oh, For a Good Story

May 3, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fishermen are notoriously good storytellers. Who can resist the suspense of the catch, and the disappointment of the one who got away? As a teacher, my favourite class was the one where we put the desks in a circle and told stories. After all, oral traditions are where stories begin. My grandchildren naturally prod for […]

Over It!

One day it’s so mild that I don’t bother with a coat, the next we wake up to snow on the ground. The plants pushing up through the soil seem a little more patient than me – as if they are humouring nature’s fickleness. I’m ready for clear change. A pair of finches just flew […]

Present Distance

I’ve lived the fog of distance –life’s highway a series of hillsdestination without promise Have learned that acceptance gains perspective,that climates change, and hope sustains,and that in the stillness dreams renew. Now I travel quieter paths, appreciatespace, have surrendered to a slower pace –certain that this too will change. (image my own)