“I Swear I’ll Make It Up to You”: A Review

Explosive, sometimes irrational, anger is a steady companion of addiction.    Anyone who has lived with or been an addict will recognize the pattern played out in the pages of Mishka Shubaly’s memoir :  I Swear I’ll Make It Up To You. Shubaly holds nothing back in the telling of his story, subtitled:  A Life On […]

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The domino effect.

Originally posted on Thriving Under Pressure:
Smile like you’re changing the world. Because you are. 🌸 We often think of changing of the world as some great big, grand gesture. Performed on stage with millions of people watching. When in fact it’s just you and me (and 7 billion others). Smiling, connecting, caring, and loving.…

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My Husband Says: Shoot The Bird!

“You’re abandoning me for the summer?  Is that what you’re telling me?” I reel at my mother’s response when I tell her we have parked the motor home at the lake for the summer season.  This is the place she always goes to:  how it affects her and I feel the talons of guilt closing […]

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Mom Said Marry Well

I keep dreaming about young men:  confidant, seductive, virile young men.  In my dreams, they cozy up to me, offer promises of love, and always, I remember who I am – a dried up old woman condemned to disability – and wake up…reluctantly. Thing is, men have always been a mystery to me, like a […]

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Depression On Board

Depression rides along with chronic illness, not as a cause, but as a response. The limitations of this disease (ME/CFS) are not easily defined, yet, if pushed, will result in undeniable consequences.  You would think that after three years, I would know this, and yet, I continually fall into patterns of denial. We travelled 3,000 […]

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The Other Side of the Fence

The longest my family ever lived in one place was when I was aged four to eleven.  We lived in a house, built by my father, with a fortress of cedars on either side of the backyard to “keep out nosy neighbours”.  Behind was a farmer’s field and beyond a wooded area.  My father had […]

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Churry

Cognitive functioning is currently down a notch.  (I know I’ve complained of this before, but bear with me – I think it merits understanding.) I found a recipe for Easy Lentil Curry on the blog:  Simple Vegan.  Since I love curries and lentils, I decided “easy” must mean it is doable even for me.  Part […]

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How To Sabotage Happiness

“I get hit on everyday at work,” a young mother recently disclosed.  “Anyone of those men would be happy to look after me. My husband just doesn’t appreciate me enough!” I don’t know what has motivated this woman to make such a comment, but I fear she is on the brink of destroying many lives. “There […]

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Building a Marriage

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 […]

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The Aftermath of A Catastrophic Divorce

Marital breakdown is a catastrophic event for the whole family – one minute you’re driving down the road, all three kids on board, headed for routine activities, and the next you’ve hit a wall of water with nowhere to go but to bail out.  You might swerve off the road to avoid going under, and […]

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