Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
Never understood it when Dad called me cheeky as a kid, although I always recognized a tone of approval. Then I saw it in my own children: that look of sheer defiance that melted my heart every time. This photo of our youngest granddaughter exemplifies the epitome of cheekiness, don’t you think? (In response to […]
Read More“Grandma, do you drive?” “No, Love, not right now.?” “But you can drive, right? Do you have a license…actually, what is a license?” “It’s a little piece of paper that says you’ve passed your driving test.” We’re snuggled into bed for the night, the second of a two-night sleepover. She is five, and I am […]
Read More“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 […]
Read MoreI have to confess that post-election, I have been afraid of what is happening in my neighbouring country – rallies and rhetoric, protests, and a president-elect who seems more prepared for battle than for harbouring peace. Doubts about the safety of travelling in the States at this time have crossed our minds. “Keep your political […]
Read MoreThe 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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In dreams, I walk, no concern for the distance. I ride a bicycle, or drive a car. I move with purpose and direction… …until lucidity snaps me back to reality and then I plummet into the despair of knowing these are no longer options for me. In dreams, I confront life’s issues, face my foes, […]
Read More“You better be having a party for me!” Mother told me leading up to Christmas. Her 90th birthday was fast approaching. “No one in my family has ever made it this far.” So, we planned a party. My daughters jumped on board, rented a room, arranged caterers and we called the invited guests. The party […]
Read MoreSpas are meant to be luxurious: relaxation sublime. My daughter planned on it when she booked us into a top-rated facility for a morning of pampering. My daughter doesn’t have mobility issues. It wasn’t her inner bitch that threatened to spoil the day. Should have known there’d be a problem by the absence of handicapped […]
Read MoreA week after my husband completed thirty-five rounds of radiation for Stage III Prostate cancer, and a year to the date that I learned surgery to remove cancerous tissues from my breast was successful, Ric fell down a flight of steps rupturing his quad tendon. Ten weeks after surgery, he would fall again, causing further […]
Read More“Why do you wear this thing on your wrist?” “To measure my heart rate; it’s recommended that I keep it under 100.” “Let’s take another look at that theory.” This is my seventh visit to Dr. B., a practitioner of Functional Medicine. Having just finished the ozonotherapy IV treatments, we are meeting to discuss progress […]
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One Woman's Quest II 