A Rare Autumn Day

October 24, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’d been told that one street over from our house, behind the nursing home, there is a nature trail. Ric has been busy working – driving back and forth between the city – and I have been homebound, moaning about the dull weather, so I haven’t had a chance to see it for myself. Then […]

Reflections on Gathering

October 14, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The forecast for last night was a frost warning. “The rooftops were white this morning, did you see?” a neighbour asked me at our communal brunch. I hadn’t noticed, but I am feeling it in my body. Things are seizing up. We’ve had a week of get-togethers, starting with Thanksgiving. Tuesday, we drove into town […]

Re-Focusing Attention

October 7, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

The past week has been very draining on many levels. I know others have felt it, as well. The surge of emotional and psychological upset has taken its toll on my physical well-being. I spent the morning in bed, and part of the afternoon, and then, since the rain was holding off, I asked Ric […]

Baseline Wrap-Up

September 30, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Before illness, I loved to play tennis. Although never the fastest player on the court, I appreciated the fact that tennis is also a game of strategy. My strategy was often to aim for the baseline, a shot that almost always caught my opponent off guard. Of course, missed shots were most often out-of-bounds. This […]

Baseline

September 26, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Baseline is the name of the road on which my final high school stands. My ‘last chance’ authorities called it, as I’d been ‘asked to leave’ the previous one. Turned out the attendance officer was a parent of a former classmate and recognized me. I felt trapped. Skipping school was how I coped in those […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #13: Questions

August 27, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

What will come from all this suffering? Why do I keep repeating old patterns? Where is this journey taking me? How can I be a better person? When do things get better? A Question by Robert Frost A voice said, Look me in the stars And tell me truly, men of earth, If all the soul-and-body […]

Home: A Wrap

August 5, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

We arrived Wednesday, our vehicle stuffed full, including a blow-up mattress for me, who would be camping out the remainder of the week. Ric would travel back and forth, staying at the RV, and I would manage deliveries, and oversee the laying of new floors. I set up in the living room (bedroom carpets were […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #9: Home

July 30, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. Likewise, I never imagined that home might be something I would miss.” – Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Home is on my brain this week, as we […]

Celebrating the Gifts of Life

July 26, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

At 10, I ruled the world – hard peddling up steep roads and letting go on the other side thrilling to speed and risk. At 20, I felt the pressure to define my life, marry, and be somebody – driven without much compassion At 30, I relaxed a bit, celebrated having birthed three children, confident […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #8: Celebration

July 23, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

By the time you read this, my celebration will have begun. The family and I will have met for a casual dinner at a local restaurant, and I’ll be glowing from pride to think that two generations all started with me. Miraculous, isn’t it? Today, we are headed up north, where I will celebrate my […]

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 […]