Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
An apology, dear readers, if this week’s challenge came across as glib. By “stuff“, I was referring to the incidental: a broken foot, a set of stitches, a temporary setback. In no way did I intend to imply that trauma or loss is “stuff”. Some things, with a bit of grit, can be overcome. I […]
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“Just hang in till after the move,” I kept pleading with my body. Unrealistic in hindsight. Six o’clock, the morning before the move, I wake Ric with a request to drive me to the hospital. Turns out you can’t just pack chronic illness in a box and unpack it when convenient. While they pumped fluids […]
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“How long do you boil the corn?” “I don’t know.” “What do you mean, you don’t know?” “It’s done when it smells right.” This is why I can never replicate a recipe. I literally follow my nose. What is your relationship to smell? (Don’t tell me you didn’t know this was coming, lol.) Look forward […]
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Needing a break from moving house, I took my camera and drove along the river road looking for birds. Always hoping for that one shot to brag about later. The river seldom disappoints. A family of wild turkeys crossing the road welcomed me. Ripples in the calm water revealed a female merganser – a thrill […]
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Cornish pasties, the ones my father used to make when I was a child, were the one thing I craved while carrying my first child. Something in the taste of ground beef, sliced potato, and onion, wrapped in a flaky crust and seasoned just right, called to me. Except my father had long since misplaced […]
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The art of listening, best taught by the family pooch –ears attuned to nuances, carefully weed throughhuman gibberish for words that resonate:treat, dinner, walk, cuddles… Those eyes challenge, invite compassionconvey a depth beyond understandingand when tone turns impatient,little paws retreat, as if words are blows. If only I could learn to listen,hear the workings of […]
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Augustine was the name chosenshould this new arrival be a girlbut as her mother labouredshe knew, with certaintythere would be no “ine” She is August, born in Mayesteemed and venerablea name fit for a leader –I can attest to her abilityto run the show – definitely rules my heart. (For Eugi’s Causerie Weekly Prompt: August.)
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Birdwatching for me is a meditative practice. It involves immersing myself in nature and finding a quiet place from which I can observe. I begin with a prayer of acknowledgment and gratitude. I ready my camera and then I listen. Each bird has its own song and variations. It helps me determine where I want […]
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She was quite eccentric, and visibly older than most of the students attending our program. I’d had five years between first and second year, so I guess she was drawn to my maturity. We both wanted to be teachers. After graduation, she went on to her Bachelor of Education, and I gave birth to my […]
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“Dear Grandma, We love you with all our hearts. We miss you and wish we couldtouch you and have sleepovers all the time. You are the best girlin the world and I love you so much and hate the coronavirus.” The note came in a homemade card, created and dictated by my four-year-old granddaughter. Touching […]
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One Woman's Quest II 