Some days are heavy with memories. April 14th is one such—the day my first child was born. Actually, she wasn’t my first child. Like so many women, I had a prior pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. That miscarriage occurred a year before my baby girl was born. (Both were right around Easter.) Today, a… Continue reading What we remember – “April 14”
Today is Family Day in B.C. In the year since I first posted the poem below, we’ve discovered that our littlest granddaughter’s developmental delays are most likely caused by cerebral palsy. And so a family very precious to us is walking a new-to-them path with lots of challenges—and the sentiments expressed by little A’s grandma… Continue reading Cheerleaders (a poem for Family Day)
News of the day Where were the police at LAX? “I’m not resigning,” says Mayor Ford. Journalists killed by Senegal mob and our son-in-law has a brand new job. Leveraging was new to me. More healthcare government outages planned. Big trucks give auto sales record torque but the kids are moving way up north. The… Continue reading News of the day
Still mothering me Five days ago would have been your birthday. It’s been eight years … But you still visit me often keep me cool every summer when I slip on the brown sundress rescued from your closet wrap your arms around me every winter week it’s the old magenta sweater’s turn. Sometimes I catch… Continue reading Still mothering me
The subject of today’s Spiritual Journey first Thursday is CONNECTION. It’s Doraine Bennett’s one-little-word for this year. I’ve been thinking about connection and connections for several days now and the more I do, the more I realize it’s a big concept. Many of our tools (like the computer I’m typing on) need a connection to… Continue reading Cheerleaders
Poetry Camp inspired me to be a more regular visitor to my library (thanks, Janet Wong!). My fascination with verse novels prompted me to pick up Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. I quickly discovered, though, that this isn’t exactly a verse novel. It’s a memoir—the story of young Jacqueline taking us through her childhood… Continue reading Brown Girl Dreaming (review)
Un-Hallmark Mother While I gifted icon carnations and Hallmark lines, “Mother” to me smelled of duty and mothball wisdom. She my root of conscience, scruple permission to pursue the chaotic then, like her, to sort and label. I lived for her sideways compliments overheard in conversations with her friends. Her widow-grief broke down walls: She… Continue reading Un-Hallmark Mother
Mother Speaks Do not throw it away, we’ll use it for patches. We can always eat bread—and eggs. Na-yo.* Are you reading again? Still not done the dishes? You could always weed the garden. Homework? Early. So much to do. I’ll be in the garden. Don’t be listening on the line. Felt pens! Can you… Continue reading Mother Speaks (NPM ’16-Day 19)
Storm Chasers The sun shone from Mother’s eyes most days until the weariness of caring for many children sowed clouds into the furrows of her forehead and impatience brought easterlies, even squalls. “Can we go? Please!” Getting an answer from Dad was like moving a ship through the doldrums. We budged him to “We’ll see”… Continue reading Storm Chasers (NPM ’16-Day 3)
The Silver Locket by Sophia Bar-Lev My rating: 5 of 5 stars “ ‘I think that there’s something special happening here—a kind of “hashgacha pratis” like the Rabbi talks about. ... Oh, that’s Hebrew for “an intervention of divine providence” ’ ” – The Silver Locket, p. 23. The “something special” Rosalie Lapkin refers to… Continue reading The Silver Locket (review)
Violet Nesdoly 