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The call of Istanbul
Istanbul’s “Old City”, at sunset, from the Asian side of the city. On the eve of municipal elections in Turkey, and after international media coverage of Twitter and YouTube bans, my mind is occupied with thoughts of this country. Years and years ago (we won’t count how many), I spent my last high school year in Istanbul, on an exchange program through Rotary International. I lived with three lovely Turkish families – one on the Asian side of the city and two on the European side. With my school on the Asian side, that meant for more than half of the… Read more…
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Confessions of an introvert
I work in a profession that demands interaction. Advising senior executives, providing guidance to managers, helping all kinds of people tell their stories well, answering media questions, being the public face of the company at events … some weeks it’s a real whirlwind. A perfect job for an extrovert. Except I’m not. Confession time – my name is Katherine, and I am an introvert. I don’t know how many who know me at work would necessarily see that. I’ve worked hard over the years to battle that side of me, and to push myself to be more social and outgoing.… Read more…
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Getting ready to leave the nest – soon
My oldest child – a 17-year-old boy – is just on the cusp of leaving the nest. He’s in his last year of high school, and has recently received his first university acceptance letters for September. We’re still holding our breath and crossing our fingers for the first choice, but both options now on the table are good, and I’d be happy for him to take either. He’s more than ready to go. A very responsible kid, he’s been squirreling money away from his lifeguarding and swim instructor position, after having spent last summer as a camp counsellor at the… Read more…
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Inspring Women in my Life: Thoughts on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day, and I’m embarrassed to say I’ve paid little to no attention to it in the past. For some reason though, it’s on my mind this year. I’ve been inspired by a lot of women in my life. My own Mum was fortunate enough not to need a paying job and was everpresent in our schools and in the community whether it was on field trips, extra-curriculars teaching girls to knit, directing school plays and performing in community theatre and singing groups among other pursuits. My first boss was a true inspiration. She was a respected force… Read more…
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Weaving musical harmonies
My youngest child – an almost 14-year-old girl – has had the great fortune to sing in a really good community children’s choir for the past several years. This summer, the senior and chamber choirs have been invited to compete in the championship level of the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia (another blog post altogether!). The choir came home with two gold medal standings the last time they competed in these games. Love of music shows up in the walldecal above my daughter’s bed. I had no idea, when she began at the age of 8, that we were starting down… Read more…
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Looking to the future – with an sober nod to the past
I’m in Ottawa this week – Canada’s national capital – for an industry conference with a distinctly forward-looking theme. We’re looking at how we’re preparing our people for what comes next, whether it be through succession planning, training, engagement, innovation or other ways to stay ahead of the curve. We have an exciting agenda, fantastic guest speakers lined up and I’m genuinely excited to be a part of it. Coincidentally, Ottawa is also where I was fortunate to go to university, graduating with a Journalism degree in 1990 (gulp!), back in the day when I was a young, eager young… Read more…
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The art of letting go
When I started practicing yoga a few years ago, I never imagined one of the hardest things I’d have to learn was how to lie still.A little background: About three years ago, a friend managed to sweet talk a local upscale gym into turning her free 6-month pass (won through her amazing marathon running feats) into two 3-month passes for each of us. I have her to thank for helping me start this journey. We set out the first night to a yoga class. I took a deep breath and hoped I’d be able to keep up to this superb… Read more…
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A different kind of twitter
Recently, I spent a cold Sunday morning standingstock still in a forest. Why? To feed the birds. My middle child — a 15 year old boy — relishes the challenge of standing still enough to get the more curious birds to come and land on his outstretched hand to choose the best nut or seed to take. It’s amusing to watch the braver birds pick up a sunflower seed and drop it again, deciding that it’s not heavy enough to have a real treasure inside. My son is truly the bird whisperer. I can get chickadees and the occasional nuthatch,… Read more…
