And so it goes…

March 28, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The generosity of friends and neighbours has truly warmed our hearts, as we prepare for our Ukrainian house guests. Inspection of our home is set for this week, and just as everything was coming together… it rained…and we discovered a crack in our foundation. Drywall has been ripped out, carpet removed, and the back garden […]

Shades of Possibility

March 9, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(More from archives.)

Changing the Lens

March 7, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Reading through old journals, so much focuses on lack of money. I express guilt for not providing enough as a single mother, anger for being abandoned by my children’s father, and shame for having to rely on others. The feelings still linger. And then I hear my father’s voice: “The good Lord always provides.” And […]

Hold On!

March 2, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Some days, you just have to find that rock to hold onto.Tomorrow you can think about letting go. (Another tidbit from foraging old posts and journals. Image my own.)

Where is Home?

February 28, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

I ask my three-year-old self to show me her home, and she points to the floor beneath the formica-topped table in the kitchen. There, caged within the chrome legs of table and chairs, she is out of the path of adult legs, whose movements are as unpredictable as their moods. I ask my four-year-old self […]

Learning What Matters

February 21, 2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Parents brought children to the occupation in Ottawa. They set up camp on a main thoroughfare, in front of apartment buildings and retail shops, and obstructed the lives of others. They honked their big rig horns, left their diesel engines running day and night, and set up barbeques, and food tents, and bouncy castles, and […]

Don’t Take It Personally

February 9, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Spurred on by my mother, I left home at the age of seventeen. It was the right thing for all involved, but when my parents replaced me with two cats, I couldn’t help but feel slighted: I’m deadly allergic to cats. When my mother-in-law spiked a meal with milk, hoping to prove that food allergies […]

Good thing we didn’t give up!

February 4, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Title is borrowed from a blog post entitled Disappointment and Then. It has me thinking. How many times in my life have I almost talked myself out of progress? Teaching is the example that stands out the most. I wanted to be a teacher ever since I lined up dolls for lessons as a child, […]

Are you pregnant, or is that a mouse in your pocket?*

December 25, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

A heavy fog greeted us this Christmas morning, but nothing can dampen the mood. Ten negative COVID tests brought a group of us together to celebrate Christmas Eve. Not the whole family, but all the grandchildren, which made this Grandma’s heart sing. My son and his wife were delayed by work, so we let the […]

Life Takes A Turn

December 10, 2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Life, like the weather, has taken a turn. No answers at the moment, but I am once again confined to bed rest. Restorative rest, is what the doctor has ordered. Limited screen time, hired help to run the house, no outings. I have a few posts pre-scheduled on my poetry site, and will visit when […]

Chickadees in the House

A friend from my poetry circle honoured me with a birdhouse painted with Ukrainian colours. John has since passed away, and this summer we were finally able to give the birdhouse a home in our garden. Happy to say, John, that the chickadees have settled in and I am joyfully reminded of you everyday.

This Life A Road

This life a road –the way preparedsigns to guide me,and still, I get lost. Construction, distraction,disobedience – throw me off –tendency to choose tougher routes,broken down and been sidelined And yet, the road still beckons,invites progression, thrills.A rolling stone gathers no moss,my father liked to say, and so… I push ahead, keep motoring,trust the obstacles […]