Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
First, a disclaimer: I am in no way an authority on poetry; it is just something I happen to do… a lot. In fact, my original blog, One Woman’s Quest, is dedicated to my poetic escapades. A cancer scare prompted me to start writing a blog in the first place – I needed somewhere to […]
Read MoreSystemic best describes the characteristic of ME/CFS: the exhaustion, like a lead weight, hits muscles, organs, and brain creating an overall resistance to movement. Physical energy is engaged in a battle against spirit. Two weeks ago, I attended wedding preparations and celebrations, babysat my five-year-old granddaughter, and felt like I was finally progressing beyond this […]
Read More(Sometimes, the best way to approach dream interpretation is to retell the dream from a different character’s perspective. What follows is just that. The ‘she’ referred to is the ego self. To gain further insight, I also wrote a poem, simply titled “Glue”.) How can I justify this current state of malaise, given the opulence […]
Read MoreTo-do list: write publish a blog post shower and dress strip the bed and remake vacuum and dust bedroom put away groceries from yesterday prep veggies for cooking make vegetable curry make red lentil kale soup make spicy tomato chick pea soup put away clothes from laundry Reality: slept late wrote and published blog post […]
Read MoreFrankenstein legs, I call them, these long, slender appendages once a treasured asset, now stiff and unpredictable. Hunchbacked is my stance thanks to weakened back muscles. Cruella de Vil has nothing on me, my formerly auburn waves salt and pepper with a shock of white at the front. And when I speak there is hesitation […]
Read MoreNeeds, 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 […]
Read MoreThe house creaks and cracks with such ferociousness, I am unable to sleep. Perhaps it does not like the starkness of bare walls, the absence of furniture, the finality of boxes stacked and sealed. It is my last night here – just myself, a king sized bed and a complaining house. So much has changed […]
Read More“Was I right about the doctor?” the middle-aged receptionist asked cheerfully as I emerged from the examination room and waited for my next appointment. “He’s very good,” I agreed. I had hesitated to see one more specialist after a history of dead ends trying to get a diagnosis for what was clearly something wrong with […]
Read MoreThe floor reached out for me, pulling me down with alarming force. I fought to remain upright, waves of nausea weakening my resolve. One hand flew to my brow – now a pool of sweat – while the other searched for the phone. I’m calling 9-1-1, I texted my husband. “Stay with us, V.J.!” the […]
Read MoreThe house is sold. We have less than thirty days to clear out, which considering we are moving into our motor home, means to get rid of everything. It’s a year ahead of schedule, I admit, but given the hot real estate market, I agreed to list the house for a month and see if […]
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One Woman's Quest II 