Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
Known in class as the Quiet One, Shelly is given to wandering away from her desk for no reason. Mostly, she is good natured and easy to get along with, and as her teacher, I can tell you she is quite bright. What most don’t know is that she is a collector, somewhat reminiscent of […]
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“What’s in this box?” “Good question. To be honest every time I look at the contents, I just…” “… glaze over?” “Exactly.” Turns out there were pens and lightbulbs and notepads, and something Ric’s been looking for. Likely the contents of a junk drawer – you know, the stuff you put out of sight because […]
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It was a neighbour girl that started it. We played together one day – a rare occurrence, as she seldom came outside. “How do you know you’re not adopted?” she hissed at me, as if to say: You don’t know everything. I started to answer, but then, the words got stuck. How did I know? […]
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The meeting was both exciting and a letdown. Exciting because it was my first attempt at a social event in over three years, having been bed bound all that time. A letdown as soon as the participants talked about early morning walks as the best way to spot birds. Mornings were still tough for me, […]
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“Tell me a favourite memory from your travels,” my golden-haired nurse asked me as she scoured my bruised arms for an accessible vein. I’d blown another IV and options were limited. Rachel Sunshine I called her, this wisp of a young woman who, at first hospital-glazed glance, glowed a with a yellow aura. So I […]
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Make sure you have lists for us when we come, my daughter messages me. Checklists with a gong to hit every time we complete a task, my son-in-law adds. We have no shortages of lists, in fact, every day or so, we are rewriting our lists: things to do, things to buy… Nowhere in those […]
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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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It’s day three at the new abode and I’m sipping my first home brewed cup of tea while sunlight streams through the uncovered windowpanes. Body has put the brakes on, so its a good day to catch up on all things social media. Lovely to see the sun; it has been overcast and stormy up […]
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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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One Woman's Quest II 