This picture was taken the day my mom turned 75. That was seven and a half years ago now. Four years ago this afternoon, we sat together - my mom and dad and sister and I - in a puke-coloured room in the cancer centre as the doctor delivered the news that her cancer had… Continue reading time goes by
Tag: strength
the only one
Tucked away in the corner of a little Italian place that, after the sun went down, was dim like a mine shaft and just as cold, we sat discussing the living we’ve done over the last 30 years. The two of us, middle-aged women now —whose bodies have performed a miracle or two since we… Continue reading the only one
thanksgiving
It’s overcast at the cottage this morning. It was a spur of the moment decision to come up here late yesterday. One minute we were sitting on the bed folding laundry talking about this year’s brilliant fall colours. Twenty minutes later we were on the road. The last thing I threw in my bag on… Continue reading thanksgiving
the blue house
A poem I haven’t thought of in some time has been hanging around me the past few days. Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe it’s a message. It turned up for me again this week as I was doing some research for a book idea. The poem is called The Blue House (by Tomas Transtromer). In… Continue reading the blue house
house of cards
It was a house of cards. Everyone was busy playing their hand. We took our own deck, a bottle of wine and a corner table. At the end of that night, the bottle was empty. Everyone was gone. And there on our table was this beautiful house of cards, stories, hopes and secrets. Something we… Continue reading house of cards
on being 50
I’m turning 50 later this week. People who know this seem to be approaching me cautiously wondering how I’m “taking it.” I'm taking it like the par-tay that it is. Like, I'm not getting senior discounts yet, but I know that life is short and that, in so many ways, I’m a lucky woman. I… Continue reading on being 50
an angel we could see
A little over a year ago, my cousin Nancy gave me this aloe plant from her collection. I needed a good hair-do for this plant holder person and, by some miracle, it has stayed alive. Nancy & Benny came for supper that night with my dad. It was the spring of 2019, just months after… Continue reading an angel we could see
MeaningMaker 