Month: April 2024
-
Letters From the Afterlife
A few weeks after she died, I opened her mailbox and found a letter addressed to my mom written in her own handwriting. Yesterday, I read a sample from Joy Williams’ short story collection, Ninety-Nine Stories of God and the first story, Postcard, reminded me of that day. It’s very short. I tried to find…
-
Retirement Anniversary
Today, I’m marking ten years since I retired from the company I worked for for 25 years. If memory serves, my official job title at the time I left was HRMS Team Lead. Or HR Business Analyst. Or something to that effect. All I know for certain (thanks to Facebook memories) is that ten years…
-
I’ve Been Thinking About This Young Woman
I’ve been thinking about this young woman. This photo was taken in 1977 when she was 18-years-old. She thought she had things figured out, but had already chosen to let go of personal dreams and ignore relationship red flags. She would pay a steep price for those decisions, as would those around her and those…
-
My Word for 2024, And a Few of my Favourite Things
I was on the fence about whether to choose a word for this year, but this one has been circling around in my mind for weeks. It comes unbidden. A reminder. A desire for more—or less, as it is. Simplify. It’s my intentional focus for this season of my life. Before we moved to Moose…
-
Things I Like . . .
I am taking a course in short story writing with Joyce Carol Oates on Masterclass. One afternoon, I poked around on her Substack and came across a post called What I like. What I like is her creativity in writing it, so I borrowed the idea and exercised my own creative muscles by penning (or…
-
What’s the Difference Between Simple and Convenient?
The other day, I mentioned to my daughter that I was browsing the Epicure site looking for a particular blend of seasoning. Gerry and I had enjoyed a simple meal from Chef’s Plate the night before and I wanted to replicate it. Buying this blend, I told her, aligned with my chosen word for 2024—simplicity.…