Weekly Challenge Wrap Up: Books

July 8, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

“I’m too old to change!” Father snapped at me when I suggested that some of the stress Mother was suffering might have to do with his behaviour. “Look in the mirror, Dad. If you see a reflection, it is not too late to change.” It was a line I borrowed from Alan Cohen, an author […]

Learning From Bowls

July 4, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

“We’ll give him a few more minutes, shall we?” The kindly old man seated across from me crossed one leg over the other and sat back as if he had all the time in the world to wait. “The thing is…I mean…,” I hung my head in shame. “I don’t think he’s coming.” “Ah, yes.” […]

Relationship Wrap Up

July 1, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Relationship, I realized after posting my weekly challenge, is too broad of a subject. We need a lifetime to examine and appreciate our interconnections, and then, likely, we’d need to begin again – such is the nature of relationship. It slips and slides, rewards and betrays, teaches and takes away. That said, I appreciate those […]

Confessions of Losses and Gains

June 26, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Illness comes at a cost, yet even as the losses add up, there are gains. With the onset of summer, I recall leisurely hours spent golfing with my husband, or friends – a pastime we so loved. My clubs now take up residence elsewhere, these muscles unfit for the exertion required. My tennis racquet sits […]

The Gift of Friendship

June 25, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

I am the one who put forth the relationship challenge this week, and I have to confess, I am struggling with how to articulate my feelings. Fast approaching my sixtieth birthday, I find I am sentimental, or maybe, it’s that after years of isolation due to illness, I now treasure relationship more than ever. […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #4: Relationships

June 25, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

“The people we are in relationships with are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors, reflecting their beliefs.” – Shakti Gawain A friend of mine used to say (and I paraphrase). “May you experience as many relationships […]

Reflections on Nurturing Wonder

June 24, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Thanks to all who participated in this week’s challenge. (It is never too late to join in, if you feel so inspired.) Tammy at Tammy’s Reading/Writing Life wrote a post about feeling magic that so resonated with our theme, I invited her to share. She speaks of finding magic in children’s rapt attention, Christmas, bookstores, […]

VJWC#3: Nurturing Wonder

June 20, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

On the road, everyday is defined by a sense of adventure and discovery – an attitude I feared I’d lose on returning home. In truth, these past six weeks of settling back in have focused on family and friends and doctors visits. All good, and yet, already, I notice that carving time for writing is […]

V.J.s Weekly Challenge #3: Nurturing Wonder

June 18, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our sense to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats Travelling across North America and back this past winter, every day was filled with discovery, awakening new passion for life. The challenge, I recognized, as our trip wound down, would be to keep this sense of wonder […]

Currently Unavailable

June 13, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I apologize if my attention appears to be lacking, but I am currently immersed in creativity and the ability to focus, otherwise, has plummeted. (Inspired by Daily Addictions daily prompt: plummet)

I dream that I am teaching again, and having assigned the class independent work, I am spending time connecting with each student to see if they are grasping the material. It’s my favourite part of teaching, and I wake up wondering if I’ll ever have that feeling again. So rewarding. It is bittersweet, growing old. […]

Fatal Fury

Really wasn’t your faultthis fury that overcame –Words evoked onslaught,a raging river of pain. Didn’t mean to push you,miscalculated my aim,swimming in swamp watersnot a recommended game. You floundered, gurgled,cursed me by name –our love story, now viralbrought an alligator fame. (Image my own. Tale is totally fictional, I promise.)