Reading is not enough…

February 12, 2025.Reading time 2 minutes.

Our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter can read. On a recent visit, her older cousin carried her about the house testing her skills with random bottles and things she would not have seen before. She read them all, with total nonchalance while we looked on amazed. One thing she read was a Christmas greeting: May […]

Permission

February 5, 2025.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Wading through the muck of internalized blame, I stumble across a fault line, where the light breaks through. Old patterns are breaking up. My worth is not tied to how others feel, I realize. I am not the Queen of Everything. For the umpteenth time, I tell myself: I am enough. Permission granted to follow […]

Maggie Mason

January 8, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

My father used to say that my biggest problem in life was my Maggie Mason, his play on the word ‘imagination’. Anne of Green Gables was definitely my role model for an overactive imagination. I loved the way her mind worked and the antics that followed. Lately, I’ve been wondering if an overactive imagination isn’t […]

To Shift or Not to Shift

January 1, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

During our last visit, the doctor prescribed a new medication to manage migraines. We discussed not starting it until I was cleared of other issues that I was facing at the time. Turned out, I was able to start the medication on Christmas day. Fast forward a few days and I notice no signs of […]

Build It and They will Come

December 18, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Our third Ukrainian/Canadian Christmas will take place this Sunday. Two hundred and forty guests have signed up. It’s just amazing how much our community has grown, not just in numbers, but as a whole. My role as an ambassador – helping Ukrainians get started in Canada – has morphed into a support role. Our latest […]

Monochrome Day

November 27, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Trying to muster up enthusiasm for holiday gatherings, but it’s no where to be found. What has helped me get inspired in the past, I wonder. The first thing that comes to mind is snow. There is something festive about waking up to that initial dusting of white. Today, however; the bareness of the trees […]

Inevitable

November 20, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Still consumed with tests and medical appointments. Thought we had come to resolution on one issue, but the treatment didn’t work, and so we start again with another biopsy. Likely as frustrated as me, the doctor is now pointing fingers at other medications as being the culprit. Trouble is that I need those treatments to […]

Getting Hold of Fear

October 30, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Now that it’s dark early, putting the dogs out for their last ‘duty’ of the day, means taking extra precautions. We are always on the lookout for skunks, raccoons, possums, foxes, or even coyotes, as our backyard, unfenced, opens up to woods and farmland. The other night, I opened the door, made my usual noises […]

Community

October 16, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I love my solitude. The silence of my alone time allows me to plunge into creativity. Some days I feel as if I might submerge and never reappear… I suspect I suffer from social anxiety, and when I am able to recognize it for what it is and step over the fear, I often discover […]

Ice

October 9, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Interesting how confinement plays tricks on the mind. Directed to remain motionless, I spent an hour yesterday in a MRI machine. Despite the headphones, the bleeps and thrums seemed to penetrate my psyche. My body, taking advantage of my hostage status, decided to bemoan past injustices. While I focused on breathing, I listened to the […]

Where Are The Dogs?

Contemplating risk –a reunion with a former selflooking for an exit When did I become a snakerestrained?When did I become persona non grata? I slither between storiesconvince myself I can flydistraction a ruse I have big cat energyoverstepping boundariessocially adverse A faulty jeweldreaming of abundance but there’s a dragon to disarm My mother’s burden on my […]

Turning (tanka)

Mother

When I had a mothermy hair would cascadein curls of auburn perfectiona red velvet bow to accentuate the wave And I’d wear my bestnewly sewn frockwith lace at the neckand fishnet stockingsand patent Mary Janes And the girls giggling with delightwould skip hand-in-handto the school promand the boys shyly perchedagainst the back wall would wonderhow […]