When your child is sick, it’s just about the worst feeling in the world. It’s worse than being sick yourself. You would do almost anything to take it away, and be the one to suffer instead. E has been “under the weather” – coughing, runny nose, whatever – many times (and even then I get…
Tag: love
The Gaza Doctor shall not hate – even if he deserves to.
Last week I attended a talk given by a man named Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, also known as “the Gaza doctor”. Before I went, everything I knew about this man came from the flier advertising the event: “Distinguished physician Izzeldin Abuelaish MD, MPH was the first Palestinian doctor to receive a staff position at an Israeli…
Committing Your Heart: please share your wisdom
There’s this couple I know who’s going through a rough time. I love them dearly, and more importantly, they love each other – they have for years. They are one of the best, cutest teams I know. But right now, there’s heartbreak. One half of this couple looks forward to a future of happiness together,…
Happy Birthday and Happy 10 Years to my Hubbibi
Yesterday, my beloved Hubbibi turned 35. (He doesn’t look it, though. They only recently stopped carding him at the liquor store, so I think I can safely say he’s 35 years young. Right, honey?) That means we’ve been together for 10 whole years. On his 25th birthday, we were a very new couple, living in…
This Means War: A game of “Who’s hotter?”
Sometimes on car trips, during a lull in conversation, I like to start up a game of “Who’s hotter?” At first, when I would ask Sean something like, “Okay, honey, who’s hotter: Alyson Hannigan or Cobie Smulders?” he was uncomfortable. I guess initially it didn’t seem like a good idea to talk about other people’s…
Encouraging the love between boys
Imagine a 12-year-old boy with a chip on his shoulder. He moves from an inner-city school in a large metropolis to a well-to-do urban school in a much smaller city. He has been moved, for the most part, because his mom doesn’t have a clue how to control or improve his behaviour. The administration at…
The Angel Tree
This week, we went to our local cemetery in Sebastian’s honour – for the first time. We were told by a friend (thank you, C) about something called the Angel Tree, in the children’s section of the Memorial Garden. Bereaved parents were invited to put an ornament on the tree in remembrance of a deceased…
The Year You Were Here
Dear Sebastian, Today is the last day of the year 2011. This has been a very special year for us. In 2011, we heard your heart beating. We saw you swimming around in my womb, and we found out you were a boy. In 2011, I got to feel you moving inside me, and it…
Thinking about Jesus’ Mama
I was brought up Quaker, Christian in a mild sort of way. We didn’t talk lots about Jesus, but we knew what Christmas was meant to be about. We did Christmas pageants, we sang carols, we read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus every year. (Of course, we also read ‘Twas the Night…
Stillbirth: O Magnum Mysterium
This Tuesday, Sean and I were back at the out-of-town hospital, to speak again with the doctor about Sebastian’s autopsy. Thankfully, this time we didn’t wait long at all – and we had already eaten lunch at my favourite Indian restaurant, so that helped my state of mind. The doctor cut right to the chase:…