Extended Blessings

June 13, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Children grow up, establish new lives, and if we’re really lucky they bring home new members to add to the family. I have been doubly blessed with the addition of a son and a daughter-in-law. I can’t say enough about them, and I’m sure they’d kill me for posting their photographs, but it’s my blog […]

Blended Blessings

June 6, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Marrying for the third time entailed blending families – not always an easy task. I had three; he had two – bookends to mine. Falling in love is one thing, but the chances that all parties will be enthused about the idea is another. Ric’s oldest, a son, was already an adult when we met, […]

Third Time Lucky

May 30, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

I first married at nineteen, two years after I left home, and many years before I’d developed into the woman I would later be. We separated before our second wedding anniversary. Certain I was fatally flawed, I jumped at the next opportunity that came along – a relationship that would produce my three children and […]

Candid Beauty

December 20, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I 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)

Televised Sports and Tantrums

December 5, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

What 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 […]

Blessing Of Interracial Union

September 16, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

“What’s her name?” “I can’t tell you.” “What? Why not? Do I know her?” “No, Mom. If I tell you her name, you’ll ask too many questions that I’m not ready to answer yet.” “Oh.” “A son is sweetness and strength and mystery;” Call it Mother’s intuition, but I could tell there was someone special […]

Needs and Relationship

August 17, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

Needs, it seems, are an important ingredient in any healthy relationship. I’ve been listening to Esther Perel’s podcast: Where Should We Begin? and in almost every couple’s counselling session she records, needs come up. “I’ve never been any good at identifying my needs,” I tell my therapist in a recent session. “In fact, from an […]

Building a Marriage

December 12, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

Sometimes ‘aha’ moments come out of the most unexpected events. I think it started with a compliment from my son. He and his new wife had invited the family for dinner last night, and as my husband was tied up all day, Jay offered to pick me up early. “You look nice, Mom!” were the […]

“Are You Brother and Sister?”

August 21, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

“Are you guys brother and sister?” the question came from our soon-to-be five-year-old granddaughter. Dropped off by her mother for an overnight stay, we had a day of cousins and uncles and aunts, and of course, Grandma and Grandpa. I brushed off her comment with a: “No, we’re married”, but the innocent observation shook me. […]

First Hurdle Cleared

May 12, 2016.Reading time 1 minute.

Just returned from the hospital, having left my husband in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit. He was not transferred to the unit until after 9:00 pm, so while I was able to see and touch him, he was not yet conscious. It is hard to pinpoint the gamut of emotions that have coursed through me […]