He Who Talks To God

November 21, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

“What do you see?” The child stood before his mother, eyes wide and staring as if through her. His small body trembled. It was just past midnight, and he’d risen from his bed in a panic, disoriented by the darkness. “God” he answered, breathlessly, the urgency in him rising. “What does he look like?” “I […]

Photo a Week: Whimsical

October 13, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Wasn’t quite sure if this crowing rooster was whimsical or forlorn, now that the flowers that had previously blocked it have been cut down. Whimsical is lying in the grass with a pink helmet on trying to roll your tongue: This past weekend we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a family gathering. A full-length mirror provided […]

CFFC: Things People Grow

October 5, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Here in southwest Ontario, we grow corn. By August we’ve also a grown an appetite for the taste of peaches and cream corn, buttered and salted, right off the cob. My mother comes from farming roots, but these days all she grows is older. We are all farmers, in a sense – planting our seeds, […]

Photo a Week: Ready…

September 23, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Set…Go! Ready, set, go: I miss summer already! Thank you to Nancy Merrill for this week’s photo challenge: Ready, set, action.

Lens-Artists: Action

September 4, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Oh, to jump without fear – a skill long passed, although leaps of faith, I still take – never too aged for those. I remember when speed equated with freedom – a constant race – now I walk with careful measure, fresh air still accompanying pace. Never could accomplish a cartwheel – coordination not amongst […]

VJWC: Driven to Succeed

July 20, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Children understand the mechanics of accomplishment: take a risk, try and try again, and bask in the accolades that follow. As I grow older, I wonder at what point in life I lost that simple understanding. Now, as I watch my granddaughters, I feel compelled to regain some of that old spunk: tackle the new, […]

July Blues

July 10, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

Summer bursts with activities and plans, and I am already wondering at the folly of trying to move in the midst of it all. I put out a group text yesterday to solicit help from our kids, and the response was as expected: We are away that weekend. Can we help with the pre-move prep? […]

RDP #7 -Colouring You Purple

June 7, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I am colouring you purple, for the sacredness of your being, for the majesty of your soul. I am colouring you purple, for the joy that you spread – for the laughter that we share. I am colouring you purple for that is the hue that best expresses the infinite capacity of my love for […]

Fishin’: A Photo Story

June 2, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Some stories are better told with pictures: Making memories with Grumpa.

Texting Love

April 6, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

hi grandma i miss you so mach i am so excited The text came unexpectedly, one Saturday morning. It was clearly from our granddaughter, Finn. to see you, the message continued, my mom and me are so glad you will cane back Finn is six and in grade 1. Her mom did tell me she is top of […]

Monday Mood: bursting

It started Thursday evening when we picked up our 10-year-old granddaughter for a dinner out. The conversation was lively and I learned so much about the world from her perspective. Then Saturday, our oldest daughter announced she was playing her first ever hockey game, so we drove to the city to watch. I didn’t even […]

Be As the Bloom

Are we awakebarely breathing? Mounting raucousshattering sensibility Hatred buildingrights withering Who will survive? I, chirps the solo bloom Timid-voicedoverlooked radiant in her fragilityconfident Breathe (Art my own)