Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
A photo of my favourite flowers revealed that I wasn’t the only one enjoying these beauties. Can you spot the butterfly wings? Came upon this old car, complete with costumed actors, film crew, and security. Murdoch Mysteries playing out in our little town. A protective arm from a big sister, who only moments ago had […]
Read MoreJust when I thought I knew where we were headed, life threw another curveball. It happened simply enough. Ric experienced a brief period of blindness in one eye. “Just the bottom half of the eye,” he’d tell the doctor later. “And some weakness in my left arm.” The family doctor recommended a trip to Urgent […]
Read More“Isolation threatens to consume me,” I tell my therapist in a recent visit. “I’m not willing to disappear into the woodwork again.” The doctors say my illness is relapsing; it’s how they explain the onslaught of infections. I’ve just finished another round of even stronger antibiotics. While my immune system fights invasion, I am staving […]
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Shadows stalk our conversations, Mother and I. It’s not so much what is said, but what hovers between the lines spoken. Fear stalks her – death so close – and I sidestep darkness. It’s an illusion, of course, this thought that we can think ourselves well, or avoid pain by focusing only on the light. […]
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A trip to the river never fails to surprise –this dog with life-jacket caught my eyes. Ready, he was, to set off downstream,happily dependent on his human team. (Lens-Artists have left their weekly challenge open – the perfect chance to share this sweet photo story with you.)
Read More“We need language to tell us who we are, how we feel, what we’re capable of – to explain the pains and glory of our existence.” – Maya Angelou “Do you not like the book you are reading?” My granddaughter shrugs in response. Normally an avid reader, I wonder why she keeps setting this particular […]
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Jane Juska has been on my mind all week. At sixty-six, the divorced, mother of one, decided it was time to reclaim her sexuality, so she posted an ad in The New York Review of Books: Before I turn 67 – next March – I would like to have a lot of sex with a […]
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In July of 2013, I contracted pneumonia. After a course of treatment, I continued to experience weakness, shortness of breath, and frequent tachycardia. By January, I had seen a gamut of specialists, received no answers, and was worse. Test after test eliminated obvious possibilities. In the end, I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The doctor […]
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Subtle, not-so-subtle, we choose to listen or turn away; attempt to decode – a look, a scent, a nuance – Is this invitation,judgment, oran opening?Seems subjectivityinterprets subtle. The focus this week has been “subtle”. For me, it was a commitment to pay attention to my body – rest when I needed it, and attempt to […]
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Subtle is: 1. not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious in any way; 2. small but important; 3. achieved in a quiet way that does not attract attention to itself and is therefore good or clever. Cambridge English Dictionary Subtlety is not my strong suit. I am outspoken, exuberant, and often joke that I have to […]
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One Woman's Quest II 