Usually when I go to the movies, I come home with stuff. Normally, it's mostly popcorn kernels stuck in my bra. This most recent time at the theatre, I came home with a lot more. I'm a problem solver. I wrap a lot of my mommy identity up in my behind the scenes work to make my child's life … [Read more...]
Today Is A Gift
Today I am 46. For months this number has bothered me. Closer to 50 than 40. Old. Middle-aged. How fortunate I would be if 46 is middle-aged. How lucky I am to be another day older. These are my thoughts this morning. Yesterday, a wonderful family that I know was robbed of their husband and … [Read more...]
Time For A Change
Fourteen years ago on Sunday, my mom lost her battle with brain cancer (oh and leukemia..because you know...why not). This Saturday, 29 year-old Brittany Maynard of Seattle was supposed to end her life. Brittany is suffering from the same glioblastoma tumour that my mother had partially removed … [Read more...]
Remembering You
Today marks the fifth anniversary of my mother's death. And while I suppose it's true that time eventually heals all wounds, my soul knows that there are some losses that take a piece of you with them, leaving behind a deep, deep fissure. Most days, you carry on and the crack is small; not … [Read more...]
The Journey to Death
How can I know about dying and how I want to live my journey if I don't open myself up fully to the experience? As I watched my sister-in-law this past summer and now my good friend go through the deaths of their mothers, as I hold their hands, share my wisdom and cry tears of loss and gut … [Read more...]
Hope Takes Flight
It was the summer of 2009, and I was at one of my lowest points. My mother was dying, and my sisters and I, along with our dad and my brothers in law, stood vigil by my mother's bed in the palliative care unit at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Canada’s leading cancer research centre and one of the … [Read more...]
13 Years
Tomorrow will mark 13 years since my mom died. 13 years. I often find today to be the harder milestone. The day that she died I was relieved that she wouldn't have to go through another night like she had the night before. I was relieved that my father wouldn't have to and selfishly, that we … [Read more...]
A Little Tenderness
My father died this week after a long battle with dementia. It is many things I am coming to understand; painful, surreal, a blessing, darkness, light, a terrible sadness, a relief. When I understood he was gone, I felt a feeling I had never felt before. I felt my shoulders go up and down. … [Read more...]
Sweet Lorraine – A Love Story
[youtube id="KDi4hBWsvkY"] A little something to warm your heart and remind you of enduring love. … [Read more...]
Love You Forever However We Can
I originally posted this during my mom's battle with cancer 4 years ago but I was taken back to this place watching my sister-in-law care for her mother, my mother-in-law. We lost her this past Sunday. This post is to all of the daughters and sons who become caregivers for their parents. I used to … [Read more...]