Kitchy

July 21, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

“Duck under the table and see what you can find,” was Father’s pat answer to the question of what was for dessert. He was like that: quick-witted and full of comebacks. My husband is the same, and I compound the problem by walking into it every time: “What have you got on tomorrow?” I’ll ask, […]

VJWC #6: Family Mystery

July 11, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

Her name was Mary, the one that they say shot herself. Although I never knew her, it is a stretch to believe a woman would kill herself this way. Far too messy. “What was she like?” I asked my mother once. “Timid. Not a particularly happy woman.” She had been married to my mother’s second […]

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? […]

Life With Father

June 29, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

“Whatever it is we need to learn from each other, I say let’s do it now, so we don’t have to come back and repeat it,” I told my father once during a period in which I was exploring the concept of reincarnation. I imagine he lowered his chin and looked over his spectacles at […]

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 […]

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.

Baby Turns Two

May 31, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Two years ago my husband was just released from the hospital following triple bypass surgery, my daughter’s mother-in-law fell down their stairs resulting in a concussion, and our third granddaughter was born. It was a chaotic time. Now, I am happy to report, all are well, and the little one is more than thriving. We […]

Come Play, Gamma

May 15, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

“It feels like my heart and my thumb changed places,” five-year-old Sloane says carefully guarding her injured digit. I can’t help but laugh. She can be a little dramatic, this one. “Can you get us a tissue?” I ask her older cousin. “I don’t need it! It stopped bleeding.” The blood has bubbled up on […]

Mom

May 11, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

She wears black slacks with a tiny white flower motif and a rose three-quarter sleeve top. The shoes on her feet glisten with rhinestone and an array of beaded bracelets on her arm rattle as she gestures while she talks. “I’m ninety-one-and-a-half, you know.” “I know Mom. It’s impressive.” She smiles and nods. Ric is […]

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 […]