My dad died a decade ago—on the sixth day of the six month of the year ’06. Before his service, the funeral director took my two sons aside and invited them to write letters to place in his coffin. It was a way to give…
I just had a flashback to when Jake was in Grade 10, six years ago. He asked me to read an essay that was due within the next couple of hours. Jake was the type of student who never suffered from writer’s block. He could…
Paul McLaughlin, a well-known journalist, ex-CBC producer, and interviewing trainer came to talk to my advanced feature-writing class at Ryerson last night about the art of the interview. I learned more in those riveting few hours about human behaviour than I did in the years…
I have been sick as a dog this past week. But that didn’t stop me from agreeing to a virtual mother-son bonding experience with Jake who studies on the east coast. Jake proposed we make the same bread and compare notes. As you may recall,…
I was vowing to eat fewer carbs this year, until I opened my Christmas present from Jake and Micah. It was The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, a beautifully written and authoritative recipe book. I used to be my sons’ culinary cheerleader, but now…
I dreamt about my mother last night. She died last year, and my mind still refuses to impose order on my jumble of feelings. Sometimes it’s loss; other times liberation. One day it’s regret; another day it’s defiance. I over-think our relationship, or don’t think…
When I became pregnant in 1993, I desperately wanted a girl. I was ecstatic when my obstetrician predicted from the fetus’ fast heartbeat that I was carrying one. I cried with gratitude. I bonded early with my daughter-to-be. I named her Hayley, after a character…
9:30 a.m. Vaughan, Ontario I arrive with Jessie at the veterinary surgeon’s. A kind-looking assistant leads her to the back to prepare her for the operation to repair a ruptured ligament. My canine daughter starts to whimper for me. I want to run to her,…
Back in May, I was like a kid waiting for guests to arrive for her birthday party. My two sons were coming home from university for the summer. And now, swoosh, the summer is gone, and my kids are flying the coup again. This is…
My mom died a few days after Mother’s Day last year. A week earlier, she gave me an unexpected gift. There are so many tragedies that happen every single day in hospitals, but my story has a happy ending. When my mom was first admitted…