The Numbers Don’t Tell All

April 10, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“We only test the front line workers.” This from Public Health. My daughter has been sick for days with cough. Via video chat, her family doctor says she likely has COVID-19. She prescribed inhalers and cough medicine. It didn’t really help. So she called the doctor again. “I can’t see you in my office if […]

Avoidance Therapy

May 10, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I just want to sleep. Situational, my therapist calls this type of depression. Saw my family doctor this week, and she confirmed that the skin condition could be cancer. At best, it is a rare condition that will need specialist care. It is both itchy and painful, but there can be no treatment until the […]

Nature’s Balm

May 7, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Questions flood in as evening sets, the initial shock of hearing the ‘c’ word now wearing off. I sleep little, spending way too much time with Dr. Google, without any satisfaction. Ric is scheduled to go into town a bit later, so I take the car early and head to a new trail in our […]

Numbers and Chronic Illness

April 18, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

It’s been 5 years since illness knocked me off my feet. Tuesday, I visited the doctor with a list of 12 symptoms to discuss. She had 4 things to cover with me. We spent 1 hour and she took 2 samples, and set me up with 1 specialist and 3 more tests. She gave me […]

If I Knew; I’d Change It

March 15, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I’m struggling with myself. It isn’t the first time, and I’m certain it won’t be the last. There is no definable reason, and yet my emotional self tries to find blame: it’s Ric’s behaviour; it’s because I’m homesick; it’s my illness. Rationally, I recognize that my life is full of blessings right now, and this […]

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 […]

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 […]

Brief Connections

May 18, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The morning drizzle gave way to sunshine by noon and even though I’ve been tired today, I decide to take advantage of the clearing before retiring for the evening. I grab my camera and go in search of worthy images, but my legs are useless today, so I decide to sit instead, on a picnic […]

The Spirit of Wild Horses

February 12, 2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

We’ve come back to Coon’s Bluff in hopes of seeing the wild horses. The day is crystal blue, without a cloud in the sky. My heart is heavy. I woke up in the middle of the night, with the lines of a poem running through my head. Without turning on the light, I reached for […]

The ‘C’ Word

January 2, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

“I sat in the waiting room, naked from the waist up save for the hospital green awkwardly tied in front. This was a call back: not the kind you pray for after an audition. “In nine out of ten times, it’s nothing,” the voice had said over the phone. She added they wanted to do […]

Limbo

With each stanzaI strive for an upswing –idle thoughts leadingto a crescendo… But exhaustion plaguesmy try, and fog coloursperspicacity, so my wordsland low, goal in limbo (Image my own)

Frigid (haiku)

An Escape Plan

An incorrigible hagengages my loneliness –like an assassin sniffing outany scent of vulnerability I am lowering standardsthis history of imprisonmentenabling inappropriate openings I cry for new perspectiveponder after boundariesintending to defend Like an unwanted bullseyeI am pursued on repeatmalice considering mea problem to be solved Who is this old womanwhose thoughts are daggerswho calls upon […]