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 […]

The Questions That Follow Us

August 29, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

“Sometimes I just wish I could roll back the years and start over.” “Hard to imagine it. Life would have been very different.” Our what if’s are wistful, laced with regrets. Not that we had any power over what happened – we were only children when decisions that would affect us forever after were made. […]

Lens-Artist Photo Challenge: Everyday Moments

August 21, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Everyday is composed of moments, some insignificant, others worth savouring. Time spent with grandchildren is the latter – their presence, always refreshing, the interaction guaranteed to leave a warmth that glows long past our parting. Through them I alive again, reminded of my own childhood, and how pleasure is to be found in the simplest […]

A Photo A Week: Attitude

August 11, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Attitude says: “I can do it!” despite Grandma’s warning. It says: “You’re just kidding, and I know it.” Attitude doesn’t need words to convey it’s message: Which is why even birds can express it: (Thanks to Nancy Merrill for this week’s challenge: attitude. Also linked to Fandango’s word of the day, attitude.)

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? […]

#FOWC: Gumption

June 16, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A six-year-old, intent on exerting independence, exerts gumption (Fandago’s word of the day prompt is gumption)

FOWC: We Couldn’t Hide Our Excitement

June 10, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Five-year-old Sloane came for a sleepover with Grandma and Grumpa this weekend. Imagine the delight when we Sloane and I came upon this mother and her little ones: Mother Mallard was not as delighted to see us and ushered her ducklings into nearby brush: but new life, once revealed, is seldom content with being hidden, […]

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.

Imagine

If we could lift understandingto indigenous teachingsexpand our loveto earth, sky, and seaMake personal gain tabooand Ancients a weigh point If we could witness the mountainsslow floating across the skyand touch the dolphin’s soulanxiously swimmingwhere tuna are netted Would we cower at our insignificanceor move forward, learning to acceptthat all of life is deeply woveninto […]

Dear Child

I know a little girl,whose hair in ringletsfalls, unkempt from lackof brushing; who standswhen she should be sitting;who laughs with defiance whenchallenged, her dark eyes gleamingwith mischief; who holds her chin uphigh and stamps her feet, arms foldedin protest when she does not get her way. I see that little girl,have watched her play,with a […]

Re-de-fine-d

Ask me how I’m doingand I’ll say “fine”, notbecause I’m actually fine,but because “fine” is the onlysocially acceptable response. If I said that I have been lyinghere, for three hours now,willing my body to move,that would elicit unsolicitedadvice and tarnish my “fine”. I’d berate myself for breakingmy promise not to moan,knowing that complainingprovokes a compulsive […]