As I Grow Older…
As I grow older, I see things through different eyes. My mind’s eye sees a man of indeterminate age. Someone who has all the thoughts and feelings of his youth, who is unrestrained in thinking about the world, and who brings his decades of experience and knowledge into that...
Remembering Donna
My wonderful sister in law Donna passed away on April 7, 2018 at the age of 79 after a long journey with Alzheimer’s. Hap and his family asked me if I’d do the eulogy for her. I was honoured. We held a Celebration of Life for her on Sunday,...
It was dreary overcast and wet…
It was dreary, overcast, and wet. The air was heavy. Somewhere between a thick fog and rain. The dampness was all encompassing and without rain gear, you were going to get very wet. Nate had dressed for the weather. He walked the short distance from his home to the...
A Letter to a Younger Self
Dear Younger Self: Compared to you, I’m an old man. I’m knocking on the door of senior citizenship and looking forward to getting my first Old Age Security cheque. Woo Hoo! At your age you’ll find that thought crazy. But when you finally reach the magic number, it’s not...
Miranda – A Short Story – Part 2
Miranda knew that voice! She turned from where she was sitting to see her most beloved Gramps standing on the pier looking down at her. She jumped to her feet and rushed to give him a hug. Gramps gave the best hugs in the world. She took both of...
Miranda – A Short Story – Part 1
Miranda, steaming mug of tea in hand, walked outside through the old screen door her Grandfather had hung when he built the cabin over 60 years ago. She paused to make sure the door closed. A habit long ingrained by her Grandmother who would let out an unholy yell...
A Boy and His Dad…He Was Excited
He was excited! Today was the day he got to go to “the City” with his Dad. Usually it was a family affair with Dad, Mom and himself. He had to sit in the back seat on those trips. Today was different. Mom was staying home so he got...
Dear Dad…Happy Father’s Day
Dear Dad: Well Dad, it’s hard to believe that over 34 years have passed since you shuffled off this mortal coil. I guess in your case it was more of a push than a shuffle. A massive heart attack isn’t exactly subtle is it? I think of you often...
Mastectomy – One Man’s Perspective
In the past two weeks, I’ve heard from two women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. One is a friend of ours whom we’ve known for over 20 years. The other is Susie Lindau at: http://wordpress.com/#!/read/blog/id/22014950/ a blogging buddy. Susie’s eloquent post is very moving. She talks about...
A Tale of Two Moms…Happy Mother’s Day!
I read Anka’s post over at http://keepingitrealmom.com/2013/05/09/mothers-day-will-look-like-this/ and it brought back some good memories for me about Mother’s Days past. I’m fortunate enough to have two Moms; my first Mom and my wonderful mother in law who is every bit a Mom to me as my own Mom. My...
I saw a man today…
I saw a man today. He was sitting on his walker next to one of the “Stop” signs at a four way stop. This man sat in the pouring rain holding a hand lettered cardboard sign. The sign read “I am a Veteran and any help would be appreciated....
So, what are you leaving your kids?
Have you ever heard someone ask that question? Or, maybe you’ve said it yourself in a different way. “What are we leaving the kids?” Or perhaps thought about it and not mentioned it to anyone because you didn’t want to go there? I know it’s crass but it does...
The Power of Human Touch
You may have seen an updated story about the 1995 birth of twin girls. One of the girls wasn’t doing well and her sister was put in the incubator with her and hugged her. This hug literally saved a life. http://www.planetdeb.net/spirit/rescue.htm CNN recently did a followup on the girls...
The Journey – A Short Story
They’d planned this trip for a long time but they knew this was one trip he would take alone. In their fifty plus years of marriage, it wasn’t unusual for them to travel separately. While they loved each others company, they also relished the time alone. No concern about...
The Joy of the Written Word
Over the past few days I’ve received several new notifications from the Blogs I Follow. If you check the link, you will find that I follow a pretty interesting group of people. Several of them are published writers and there are others like myself that may be classed as...
Today is a Special Day!
Today is our beloved sister-in-law’s 70 something birthday. I understand you never ask a lady her age or give it away so that’s as far as I’m going. Donna is the elder stateswoman of my sisters-in-law. I’ve known her since I was eleven years old so that is now...
Happily married for 37 years…however, we’ve been married 42!
For all my friends and family who are reading this, yes she knows I’ve written this and her first comment was that she thought I was being generous on the 37! Nice! Anyway, yes, today is our anniversary and yes, we’ve been married 42 years. I quite honestly have...
10 Things to Do Before the World Ends!
I know, I know, people have been talking about this for a long time but what can I say, I procrastinate. I guess I better get ready for the end of the world. This is really a dumb statement when you think about it. If the world truly does...
Count Your Blessings…
I’m a big fan of the movie White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kay and Vera Ellen. Bing sings a song call “Count Your Blessings”. In the interest of full disclosure, this isn’t something that I do well or often but I think I’m getting better at...
The Power of Thank You!
When was the last time that you said to someone close to you “Thank You”? Just a simple thank you for some small thing they did. My guess is not only didn’t you say it but you also probably haven’t heard it for a little while. Even though I’m...
“Put your hands in your pockets…”
I was prompted to write this post by a story coming out of Calgary. It’s not a new story. It will be repeated. It is sad. A young woman was involved in a long term abusive relationship. Her former fiancé allegedly killed her and then tried to kill himself. ...
Most of the Time…
Author’s note: David may still be with us and if so I hope he appreciates the story. As you will read, he had a great impact on me. It’s interesting how some thoughts stay with us and just pop into our mind for no apparent reason. Recently, I recalled...