This past Thursday, October 10th, was World Mental Health Day. Please, let’s talk. Mental health, or lack thereof, is a subject very close to my heart. Several people who share my blood have struggled with depression and similar mental illnesses. So has my husband. In fact, my Hubbibi was suffering from depression when we first…
Tag: questions
Why is parenting so effing hard?
I think I may have sounded, in yesterday’s post, like life with my kids is idyllic and wonderful and effortless. I was glad to have the writing to focus me on the parts I love about this parenting gig, because yesterday was actually a rather difficult parenting day. How is it okay that the most…
Talking about death with a preschooler
I know that birth and death are basically the two most universal things on the planet. Well – and sex, I guess, in its various forms. That doesn’t make it easier to talk about them with a three-year-old. E has been asking a lot about death recently, for many reasons. Last summer, he had his…
right where i am 2012: one year
I first read the writing of Angie, of still life with circles, last summer, during my first tentative steps into the baby loss blogosphere. I was very moved by this post I read of hers at Glow in the Woods, a blog for babylost parents of which she happens to be the editor. Last year…
Non-Expert Thoughts on The Avengers
This is not an actual review, since I only (finally) saw The Avengers the other night, when all the true fans are on their second viewing (at least). Everybody who cares about superheroes and comic book lore already knows it’s the best movie in its genre and that Joss Whedon is a freakin’ genius. So…
Who would you have been when the Titanic sank?
Last night at about 2:30 a.m., the wreck of the Titanic turned 100 years old. There were four of us talking about it in our kitchen yesterday evening, and again this morning – about how there were boats travelling to that very spot in the Atlantic Ocean, to commemorate the centennial… and about what an…
The Christmas Conundrum
When I first started thinking about the Santa Claus myth in relation to my own child, I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. A bit of a bleeding-heart “How can I lie to my child?” thing. Why would I bother with this farce, this deception? Now that my child is old enough to start getting…
Humanity’s Deepest Questions, courtesy of Google
Search engines are funny. Similar to my affection for my spam folder, I am fond of checking out the Google search terms that happen to lead strangers to my blog. Naturally, a lot of people are looking for book and movie reviews, which is fine, because I actually write those (while making no claims as…
What to say to the parents of a stillborn baby
At my parents’ house on the weekend, my dad handed me the local paper and said, “You’ll be interested in this.” Yes, I was. It was a series of articles called Breaking the Silence, focusing on baby loss. The next day, I wrote a letter to thank The Spectator for their feature, which talks about…
Canadian Elections 2011, Part II: My Epiphany
Something dawned on me recently: I have some heavy prejudices when it comes to politics. (Warning: Di-atribe.) It’s not that I thought I was completely free from bias, but I try to be as open-minded and critical-thinking as I can. Though I am white, female, educated, middle-class, anglophone, straight, and born in Canada, I try…