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It’s quiet at my house
It’s quiet at my house. I have the windows open and the sounds of birds and children drift in, but it’s quiet inside. Eerily quiet and I’m not sure why. My daughter left two weeks ago for her final summer working at a residential summer camp. She’s worked there for the past six years and I’m used to her being gone. And I’m used to her being away for months at a time when she’s at university, half way across the country. But this time it feels different. I sent her off last week, in her brand new car, with the… Read more…
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Online shopping adventures
I didn’t buy much online before the pandemic. I tried to support local when I could – and they weren’t usually online back then. I like to see and touch things, holding them and thinking about how they will fit with what I already own. Do I really need another pot? Is it really that much bigger than mine? Love the colour of that shirt, but not the feel of the fabric. Will that weighty vase will fit well in my collection Online shopping seemed to deprive me of that tactile and 3D experience – and for me, that was… Read more…
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Happy Mother’s Day: looking at births of a different kind
It’s Mother’s Day today, so Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there who is a mother, or has mothered children at one point or another. I have been properly feted by my children today starting with breakfast and flowers. Mother Nature also celebrated and gave me sunshine and perfect gardening weather. I’m feeling very blessed. I spent some time thinking today about each of the times I became a mother – the births of my three amazing grownup kids. Coincidentally, Halton Health Care posted a piece on LinkedIn (and possibly other social media platforms) yesterday, celebrating the 89th birthday of the OB… Read more…
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Old habits die hard?
A funny thing happened this week. I was at work – actually at work, which is another story – and as I prepared to host a virtual leadership meeting, I absentmindedly went to twist my wedding ring around my ring finger and being surprised it wasn’t there. That would be a wedding ring I haven’t worn in 17 years – more years, in fact, than I actually wore it for. So what was that about? I remember when I first took off my ring being surprised at the dent in my finger. I was expecting the band of white skin… Read more…
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A Christmas gift: A taste of “the” book
What is there to say? Another Christmas marred by a global pandemic. I feel very fortunate to have managed to get away earlier this year to keep my book-writing dreams alive. There should be a real book to hold in my hands before summer (maybe even in the spring. In the meantime, here’s a small Christmas gift – a little excerpt from the still tentatively-titled Another Glass of Tea, of a different Christmas, in make-believe land. I hope you enjoy. The house was in chaos. Well-oiled chaos, but chaos nonetheless. Fiona’s whole family had joined them at the lake, including… Read more…
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The value of touch
I miss human touch. I miss the loving embrace of a hug. I miss handshakes. I miss the feel of lips that kiss a cheek in greeting. I miss feet that meet in the middle of a couch on a sleepy Sunday afternoon with the newspaper or with books. A head that drops on a shoulder in a darkened theatre. I miss the feeling of a hand that clasps a shoulder in recognition of a job well done. Damn pandemic. Scientists have long since proven that which we all know from experience. Human touch soothes. It is compassionate and loving.… Read more…
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Here we go again
I was starting to get excited for Christmas. My neighbourhood is all lit up in bright colours and my Christmas tree went up a couple of weeks ago. Presents have been bought from local artisans, supplemented by the delivery man. Plans have been made to bring our little family together. Even with a couple of special girlfriends, we still number fewer than ten. Menus have been planned – no small feat when you consider the vegetarians, vegan and celiac among us. And there’s even been some snow. Last year the answers were hard to hear, but easy to process. Any… Read more…
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Back to reality
And just like that, it’s over. I’m feeling a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz today, except when click my heels together three times tomorrow morning, it will be back to work for me. Six months has flown by and I can hardly remember the fear – and excitement – that accompanied the beginning of my sabbatical at the beginning of March when I closed down my laptop and work phone and left them on my desk in the office. For the first few weeks, I eschewed alarm clocks, routine and the newspaper. I slept (a lot!), read… Read more…
