Dear E, You’ve now been twelve for three weeks. It has been a long time since I managed to post about you for your birthday, because funnily enough, it always falls at the busiest time of year. I am determined to write – and finish – this post, so that someday (if you ever read…
Category: Foughts and Theelings
This category is inevitable – I’m a diarist, after all.
215 is actually a small numerator.
Dear vigil speakers, Thank you for speaking your truths to those of us gathered last night to honour the 215 children, victims of the residential school system, whose remains were found in Kamloops last week. There was so much bravery in the speaking of these truths. Whether you were an experienced speaker or not, whether…
Bill Wurtz: a prophet helping us through the pandemic
You know how humans turn to music to keep them going during tough times? That has been very true for our family during the pandemic. In our house, Bill Wurtz is one musician in particular who has helped us the most in this long, stressful year. Last spring, our son E (who was ten at…
Back to School in Person!
Today was the first day back at in-person school since the winter holidays began in December. On the day last week when it was announced that we would head back this week, I remember that as the news sank in, my brain gradually released this huge invisible ball of stress and I started to feel…
Some Leftover Gratitude for 2021
Hi, lovelies, Happy New Year! You might have noticed that I was going strong with my gratitude posts for almost all of November, then suddenly posted nothing at all for more than a month. Yep. In case you wondered, it doesn’t mean that I had no gratitude during that time. Quite the contrary, I was…
My American Peeps – Gratitude Day 26
Tonight, I am grateful for my American relatives and friends. Honestly, they are some of the best, funniest, thoughtfulest, interestingest, intelligentest, loveliest people I know. I am so thankful to know them, and for the fact they have so far managed to stay safe and well. I am grateful that they will no longer have…
Winter Wonderland Snowfall – Gratitude Day 22
Today, I am grateful for the beautiful snow we’re having. Isn’t it great how snow lightens up the world right when you need it most? Just like how shade also offers itself right when you need it. Normally, we don’t really get into the Christmas stuff – music and decorating etc. – until December. The…
World Children’s Day – Gratitude Day 20
Today, on World Children’s Day, I’m grateful for the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I’m glad so many people agree that children have the right to a safe, happy, healthy childhood. I’m especially grateful to live and parent and teach in a…
Four Seasons – Gratitude Day 17
Although I did appreciate that ridiculous press conference held by the outgoing US presidential administration at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, this post is not about that. It is about actual seasons. This morning on the way to school, E asked, “Would you rather be uncomfortably hot all the time, or uncomfortably cold?” (Tough question. I…
Homelessness – Gratitude Day 15
Today was a rainy, chilly, blustery day where I live. I am so grateful for these walls, the fireplace, the furnace, the water heater, the stove, the blankets and warm clothes… All of it. On days when I don’t much want to hang out outside, I think of those people who don’t have homes, and…