Art Demands

September 18, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(Art my own)

Patterns and Progress

September 4, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

I chose not to drink having grown up in a family of alcoholics. I wanted my children to have the experience of a parent who was present and predictable. It was an ideal, and certainly not perfect. My children, a generation removed from the trauma, choose to socialize with a drink. I’ve never seen any […]

Let Responsibility Lie Where It Belongs

August 28, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

I was raised to be a fixer. Right up there with people pleaser, it’s a hard practice to shake. Recently, I’ve been struggling with my husband’s new habit of staying up late. I worry about whether or not he’s getting enough sleep, and concerned that he’ll hurt his neck if he falls asleep sitting up. […]

Packing

August 21, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We’ve decided, after five years of being homebodies, to try travelling again. He’s making reservations, while I make to-do lists and try to decide what to pack. Excited by the possibility, he draws up ambitious itineraries, and I’m feeling reality close in. What won’t fit into any suitcase, I gently remind him, is the promise […]

Limbo

August 14, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

Waiting on the results of a biopsy, news comes of a relative’s death. A loved one struggles to make sense of the world crashing in around him. War continues and though I extend my hands to help, I am growing weary. Life is like this, I think. Just as we think we’ve found firm footing, […]

Reason for Being

August 7, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A note to my younger self, who spent far too much time worrying about her looks. A message to my granddaughters, whose individual gifts give me hope for the future.

July 31, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

In my family of origin, the emphasis was on drama – who is doing what, and how they should change it. It was akin to a herd of cats all chasing each others tails. I understand now that this the dance of co-dependency. It’s a hard pattern to break free from. Bottomline is that I […]

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 […]

Celebrate

July 10, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

It’s a month of birthdays here, so celebrations are in order. There is also something about the abundance of green and visiting wildlife that makes me feel celebratory. Hope you are feeling the spirit too.

Magic

July 3, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My lens seeks the unexpected;magic startling the mundane. Photography teaches me to look again – change the angle of my focus, or reconsider the perspective. Through that one isolating lens, the world is made new. It’s been months since I’ve ventured out with my camera in tow. This post is a reminder to self to […]

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 […]