Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
It is raining the morning we pick up the RV – heavy dark clouds hovering overhead. Some days, it feels like my skin offers no barriers, for the damp weather seeps into my body and plays havoc. And then, just as we ready ourselves for the road, the sun breaks through and a rainbow lights […]
Read More
I write to you often. Does earthly mail even translate into the afterlife, I wonder. The distance between us, I find, only leaves me with more questions. Perhaps this is the byproduct of objectivity. It’s been twelve years, Dad, and so many things have changed, and yet, still the after shocks of your presence continue. […]
Read MoreI took this candid photo of my daughter-in-law on the night of her wedding celebration – just a quick image with my Iphone. I feel like it captures her sweetness and genuine beauty. (Photo prompt from The Daily Post: 2107 Favourite)
Read MoreNever understood it when Dad called me cheeky as a kid, although I always recognized a tone of approval. Then I saw it in my own children: that look of sheer defiance that melted my heart every time. This photo of our youngest granddaughter exemplifies the epitome of cheekiness, don’t you think? (In response to […]
Read MoreWhat is unresolved in childhood resurfaces in adult relationships; it rears its head with all the finesse and grace of a child throwing a tantrum. I am guilty of such behaviour. Movie nights with Mom happened once a week. Dad would be at work, and Mom would make a big pot of buttered popcorn and […]
Read More
Jacob is a typical, somewhat difficult teenager, according to his father, but when a classmate of Jacob’s is found dead, Andy Barber is forced to take a closer look at his son’s behaviour and determine if he could be housing a killer. William Landay’s suspense novel is told through the perspective of Andy Barber, a […]
Read More
“Don’t you get scared?” Yes and no, I think. Many things frighten me: a decline in my health, the loss of my spouse, something happening to one of my family members while I’m so far away from home. This is not what my mother is referring to, though. At 90, her view of the States […]
Read More
November 16, 2012, I penned: Cancer, it turns out, it is a powerful proponent of simplicity. Faced with uncertainty, one is forced to examine the complexities of life and cull. Our lives are reduced to three priorities: – Making healthy choices – Caring for relationships – Reducing financial burden. Necessity demands that any extraneous commotion […]
Read More“I’m in trouble!” My sister’s voice was weak but charged with panic. “Help me!” “What have you done?” She’d locked us all out of her apartment that weekend; said she was tired of being sick, tired of people hovering over her. She wanted to be independent. Reluctantly, we gave her space. I’d held my breath […]
Read MoreMaking sense of chaos is difficult for young minds, and yet, often necessary for survival. I could not have recited the list of causes for my family’s particular brand of dysfunction, I just knew from an early age that I needed to be on guard. So I developed what I called ‘body radar’. My parents […]
Read More
One Woman's Quest II 