My dad died two and a half weeks ago. Dad had Parkinson’s for twenty plus years and finally succumbed to this wretched disease via a choking incident that left him with aspirated pneumonia. I could talk at length about the week that dad lay dying in the hospital and all the feelings that evoked in me. I could talk about the one beautiful day we shared with him, together. The day we sang and talked and shared. The day he knew us and was aware. I could do that and it would be beautiful. But ... continue reading...
Taking Note
The word “anxiety” has been thrown around a lot over the last few months. Anxiety is a state of fear or apprehension about what is to come. It is the body’s response to stressful situations. For many, anxiety is high because of the pandemic alone. Not withstanding the changes in normalcy it has brought. One thing I am more anxious about than any other thing, as we face down an unprecedented start to the fall, is that we will sacrifice our common civility for the sake of our own ... continue reading...
Changes are coming and we’ll be okay
The much-awaited and long needed downpour just broke through heavy clouds, and I am staring out the window at the forming puddles, thinking about school. One week from today and we will return to a building we have not met or gathered in as a staff or school community since March 13. March 13th. The date of my youngest daughter's birthday. The date of our supposed last day of class before March Break. Two days before our family was scheduled to leave on vacation in sunny Florida. A ... continue reading...
No Tears
These past four weeks, I have not cried. Haven’t shed a single tear. Not when presented with missed opportunities, lost experiences (and financial reimbursements), and the monotonous daily grind. Not when discovering that the worst was yet to come. Not when reading heart-breaking accounts and watching soul-ripping moments. Not even when I could not see family, whom I love, nor when special events were celebrated in isolation. Nothing. No tears. I just can’t conjure them ... continue reading...
On Comparison and Discernment
This time of the year, with winter’s melt and spring’s thaw, one has to watch where one steps. The ground is soft, mushy and squalid. Although tempting to wear that bright, new pair of sneakers you ordered off the clearance rack on The Shoe Company website (that cute and airy, light-blue pair of Adidas that would make your feet feel like a million bucks), one instead slips on the worn, black pair of “in-door” sneakers that are castaways from one of their daughter’s defunct school year ... continue reading...
Good News
“Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is.” – Anne Frank Can you imagine writing this piece of literary goodness, this lovely gem of hopeful kindness, while in hiding to preserve your life? Still looking for the best in humanity, while very much subsisting amidst the horrors of evil. It is mind boggling. Anne was a true ... continue reading...
September days/ March craze
When September days arrived this past school year, I again faced the reality that I was staring down the homestretch with my precious second oldest. As when my very Oldest was in Grade 12, my only son, it was again, a bittersweet milestone to be reached. I (as mama) was so proud and so grateful and so darn happy for her, as I was for him: the opportunities, the challenges, the events, the finish line all in store; while at the same time, on the verge of tears whenever I quietly took stock ... continue reading...
Dear Students Everywhere…
Hello Friends, Over the past days, which now total near weeks (a week and a half, plus one weekend, to be exact), we have not been together. This has been hard. Really hard. And over these days and weeks, your teachers, and educational assistants, and custodial staff, and bus drivers, and resource teachers and support, and breakfast program volunteers, and school counsellors, and principals, and vice principals, and substitute teachers, and instructional coaches, and support staff, and ... continue reading...
Normal Things
Speaking of normal parenting things we did last night... We watched home videos, together, on the couch--- in an act of complete and utter solidarity. God bless us everyone. ********************************** Providing some context, dear reader. {And we, as amatuer writers these days have been clarifying in these spontaneous blog posts, that emerge out of nowhere on our FB pages, signing pacts solely amongst ourselves: that everything we write in this great time of uncertainty is ... continue reading...
Comfort: I Find it in the Books
When I was nine years old, the bottom fell out of our family’s world with one, horrific phone call. The call that changed everything---it came on a December day, just before Christmas. I remember very little about the date---the common, everyday moments leading up to the call. But I will forever have imprinted in my memory the picture of my mother crumpled over, hands intertwined in a dangling phone cord, her body folded in anguish, as she sank to the floor. I have written about this ... continue reading...
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