Breaking Open

October 15, 2025.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’ve started a second TikTok account just for the exploration of dreams. (@DreamCrone). It had 600 followers and lively discussion up until 2 weeks ago. Then I decided to lead my followers through an exercise examining the power of symbolism. I used my dream as an example. The exercise requires telling the dream aloud, using […]

How do we measure worth?

July 17, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

My therapist recommends that I keep a scrapbook to preserve any accolades and I just laugh. My hubby bought me a leather bound book once for that very reason. I have no idea where it is and am pretty sure it is mostly empty. Not that I haven’t received any positive feedback – just that […]

Familial Snags

August 9, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Days before she turned 65, Mom confessed that she suspected she had cancer. “I’m thinking about just letting it take me,” she said. There were many things I wanted to say in that moment, such as: You should be discussing this with a therapist and not your daughter, but; this was the nature of our […]

Looking For Silver Linings

August 9, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Note: I’ve written before about how my older brothers were kidnapped by their father as kids. My mom and her new husband (my father) had won custody, but as my oldest sister was hospitalized, they were unable to go after them or hire a private investigator. Eventually, the oldest brother returned to us on his […]

Caring Lessons: A Review

January 5, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

I ordered Lois Hoitenga Roelofs’ book, Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor’s Journey of Faith and Self, after having been a fan of her blog for several years. Lois writes with candour about her life challenges, and on the blog in particular, about her journey through her husband’s terminal cancer. It is the candour with which […]

Reggie

October 6, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I have a crush on my brother! I know that’s not right, but he is so gorgeous! Long golden hair, blue, blue eyes, and a smile that makes me melt. I can’t look at him without feeling all funny inside, and I’m sure he can tell. He doesn’t talk much, but once he picks up […]

So Many Questions!

October 2, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

It’s difficult, at eleven, to understand the rationale of adults. Why the lies? Who are they protecting? I know now that my “cousin” is actually my brother. This makes sense. Not just a brother, but my oldest sister’s twin! I cannot imagine the pain that separation has caused them. I’m so excited to have brothers! […]

The Mystery Cousin

September 30, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

The boy at the door was tall and slim, and although I had no idea who he was, he said: “You must be V.J.!” A whoosh of Mom’s skirt obliterated my response. She was hugging and kissing him and exclaiming: “Oh my! Can’t believe it is you!” Then my sisters were there, crowding our small […]

When the Unravelling Started

September 27, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

It was a neighbour girl that started it. We played together one day – a rare occurrence, as she seldom came outside. “How do you know you’re not adopted?” she hissed at me, as if to say: You don’t know everything. I started to answer, but then, the words got stuck. How did I know? […]

Lost and Found

July 23, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Fallen limbs and pathless woodsno obstacle for a wild childleft to her own devices,searching for a self. Only with age, and sproutingcurves, did I learn to be afraidof shadows, that the woodsequated with wolves and lurking And that abandoned placeshouse evil – held captive therejust this side of adolescence – lost all that innocence gifts […]