I’ve often wondered if I can call myself a writer even if I have never sold my work. I’m often described as having a “gift for words”. My husband calls me a Wordsmith. The reason this comes up is because lately I have suffered from Writer’s Block. But if I am technically not a writer, …
I was in Hydra once. Ydra, Greece. And we found Leonard Cohen’s house, with bougainvillea around the front door and a brass hand for a door knocker. My husband recited some of Mr. Cohen’s poetry and we sang Hallelujah as we climbed back down the stone stairs and alleys to the main port. Later I …
We spent some time with old friends and I wanted to remember specific moments like the way her bracelet became a prism and filled the car with rainbows. Singing tribute to Tom Petty on echoing cobbled streets. The lighthouse in the old harbour. The smell of his tyropita the moment it is removed from the …
The symmetry of the number 44 (my brand new age) appeals to my Tourette brain, as does the day of the month and time I was born: 11 at 22:22pm. These pleasant brain waves were nearly altered by the chaos in the driver’s license renewal office, though, so I distracted myself with the organ …
Forgive my silence but I haven’t been myself lately. Either that or I have been too much of myself. Whatever triggered the latest round of phobic anxiety has needed extra time and energy to root it out. With any chronic condition, sometimes we fall. Sometimes I fall hard, on my face, in a pit. While …
The most interesting thing I’ve heard when revealing my neurological condition is, “I would never know you have Tourette Syndrome.” I know this is because I don’t fit the image coming to people’s minds when TS is mentioned. Let me guess what your mind conjured: swearing and twitching. I don’t swear. Okay, contextually at …
My relationship with spiders changed somewhat when I encountered a pink wonder on my potted larkspur. It was summer and the sun was pouring instead of the rain for once so I basked in back deck splendour, turning the umbrella just so, propping a cushion perfectly behind me. My hand trailed onto the plant nearest …
Groundhog Day has me feeling homesick. On the surface it makes no sense. I’m going to have to delve deeper. I didn’t live near Wiarton Willy when Ontario was home. I didn’t have a Groundhog Day party every year. I didn’t believe in a rodent’s ability to predict the weather…accurately, anyway. All day I’ve been …
I don’t know when I first realized I was happiest reveling in contentment instead of stretching to reach lofty goals. Middle seats and Wednesdays are comfortable. A steady pace is soothing. As young as 4 years old, mocked by my brother that his piece of cake was larger, Mom says I smiled and sighed contentedly …
In life, you can’t always have—or keep—what you want. We learn this at a young age, usually when our brother snatches our doll and tears off her head. Or our sister takes back the sweater we stole from her. I had a washing machine in my house in Ontario that was 2 years old and …
