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...]
Making an Impact. Can blogging save lives?
Remember when I wrote this: If only we had known.? It was about how I wished we had known more about skin cancer. How we could have, maybe, saved my mom. And how I wished we had checked into things sooner. It was about a lot of other "what ifs". I have always loved the sun. But I have … [Read more...]
Keep Your Kids Sun Safe
We've just finished May, National Melanoma Awareness Month, but as far as I'm concerned it's important to stay sun safe all year long. One of my favourite Canadian companies, Green Beaver, has just introduced a fantastic Organic SPF 30 Kids Sunscreen. The list of all that it's got going for it … [Read more...]
If only we had known.
You know when something happens and you think, "If only I had known I would have {insert change here}." Well, over the last few years I have thought about that a lot. I have thought about how we used to pester my mom to get her moles checked out but we never really thought too much about it. We … [Read more...]
The First Sorrow
The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her. ~ AnonymousIt will be one year this weekend since I said goodbye, since I held her hand, since I saw her face. It will be one year since I leaned on her, since I cried on her shoulder, since I had my best-friend. It will be one year since … [Read more...]
In Our Lifetime
I don't know if you guys are getting sick of me writing about cancer or not, but these days I just can't seem to stop thinking about it. Not only have I lost my mother and other family members to this terrible disease, and not only is one of my best friends losing her husband to it, but I just found … [Read more...]
My Turn to Pay it Forward
You know, I freakin' well hate cancer. This dreadful disease has taken my grandfather, my mother and a cousin. It's taken countless loved ones from countless friends. And now, it's taking another terrible toll. Just the day before my mother died, I received an email from a dear friend. A shocking, … [Read more...]
I Remember
I've spent a lot of time lately looking at pictures, old and new, mostly of my Mom at various stages of her life: in childhood, as a young adult, as a young mother, and throughout the years of my own and my sisters' childhoods and coming of age, until the photographic record chronicles my mother's … [Read more...]
Finding the Courage to Live Life Consciously
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the … [Read more...]
The Calm
December was a whirlwind of family visits, outdoor play, and heart-to-heart chats. Days filled with family and festivities. Pure joy! The months before were filled with fear, dread, and sadness. Our realities thrown off kilter, barely able to hold it together. But January is the strangest of all. It … [Read more...]