Balance Would Be Good

August 18, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Life feels a bit like this photo right now – buggy. While Ric is on the mend, I have been undergoing tests for chronic issues. Last week, two biopsies were taken and a growth removed. No answers yet. “Are you scared?” Ric asks me as we lie awake, minds processing in the stillness of night. […]

The Climb From Here

February 18, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Ric is back in hospital. The infection is – for the moment – winning, having disabled his leg. An elevated blood pressure and difficulty breathing is what sent him back. He has fluid on the lungs. Two different medical teams are now following his case. It feels as if the climb from here is monumental. […]

In the Aftermath

September 18, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

All the fading bitsdetract – I am still alivepassion asserting. (A quick check in. I am recovering well; still needing lots of rest. Thanks for all the good wishes. Image from my collection.)

Avoidance Therapy

May 10, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I just want to sleep. Situational, my therapist calls this type of depression. Saw my family doctor this week, and she confirmed that the skin condition could be cancer. At best, it is a rare condition that will need specialist care. It is both itchy and painful, but there can be no treatment until the […]

Nature’s Balm

May 7, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Questions flood in as evening sets, the initial shock of hearing the ‘c’ word now wearing off. I sleep little, spending way too much time with Dr. Google, without any satisfaction. Ric is scheduled to go into town a bit later, so I take the car early and head to a new trail in our […]

Shake Ups

January 5, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

The new year grabbed me in a choke hold and hog-tied me before I had a chance to even think about what it might bring. It started with a text that my mother was in hospital, followed by a harried searching of flights and anxious speculating about how I’ll get home. Me, who hasn’t ventured […]

RV-Able: Here We Go Again

November 30, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

4:15 a.m I am wide awake, my head full of what needs to be done before we set out on our next adventure. Ric is sleeping soundly, so I quietly close the bedroom door behind me and set about my business. Outside the wind howls and as if in response, my right hip aches. Yesterday […]

VJWC #2: Synchronicity Part I

June 14, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

An orange flash dipped in front of the truck, with no time to veer. We arrived at our destination to find a Baltimore oriole embedded in the front grill. I was heartbroken. At any other time, the appearance of an oriole would be auspicious. Usually showing up in pairs, these birds arrive in summer and […]

Mom

May 11, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

She wears black slacks with a tiny white flower motif and a rose three-quarter sleeve top. The shoes on her feet glisten with rhinestone and an array of beaded bracelets on her arm rattle as she gestures while she talks. “I’m ninety-one-and-a-half, you know.” “I know Mom. It’s impressive.” She smiles and nods. Ric is […]

Writing Class #3

March 17, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

The prompt for this week is to consider the vulnerability of new growth and what it takes to protect it, tying it into nature. Here is the edited version, after the instructor’s suggestions. Rebirthing It came in the peak of summer that most optimistic time, when sunshine equates with health and bodies glow with exertion […]

Angry Dreamer

Envisioning breakup –past haunting possibility –she navigates uncertaintyan angry dreamer Tries to settle on truthbut with rage as filtershe processes and processesreaching no solid ground Love, she concludes,is beyond availabilityplans a solitary existenceuntil vulnerability caves again. (for Eugi’s Weekly prompt: haunting, and Reena’s Xploration challenge: filter.Image my own.)

Mississippi

She flowsunapologetic of her girth,does not flinchat barges scoring her surfacenor paddle boats laden with curiosity. Confident in her fluidity,she bears the secrets of life –the sludge of humanity in her belly –stirs the minds of merchants, and children,tolerates those who gather at her banks. The final word is hers – she knows –no boundaries […]

Conjurer

Baiting her line with incantationsshe casts her spell… imaginesan ocean of possibilitiesready to nibble at her bidding As if words hold swayand patience, power; believes right intent is lure enoughto reel in destiny, determine fate. (Rewrite of piece formerly entitled ‘Fishing’.Image my own. Perhaps a silly goose?)