Family Legacy
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… And Yet, Every Day I Wonder (Part II)
I wonder at all the beauty the world has seen in the midst of uncertainty the COVID-19 has brought us. I wonder at: I especially wonder at the effect of human touch, the instant smile and warm feeling from the top of my head to tips of my toes when I get to hug my children and my friends. I am in awe of the kindness, patience, grace and goodness of people during what seems like an insurmountable situation. I wonder if COVID has been sent to test many of my core beliefs. Love is all there is. The universe rewards action. Everything happens for a reason. Everyone needs…
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All I Do Is Wonder… (Part I)
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All I Do Is Wonder… (Part I)
These days, all I do is wonder. Yesterday I wondered about today. Today I wonder about tomorrow. I wonder what the future will bring. What will post-COVID life look like? Will there even be a post-COVID life or must we accept COVID as our new normal? I woke up this morning wondering about the rules. What’s changed about what I can and cannot do today? May I go out to dinner? May I visit with a friend, in person over coffee? May I visit a library? Where are masks mandatory? Will they be part of our lives forever, now? I’ve never known a Canada so divided. Each province is judged by their…
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The Letter Grandma J. Might Have Written to Me
I wish I’d known my dad’s mom from an adult perspective. Grandma J. passed away when I was 19 – too young to know what I didn’t know. Now, I realize that I have many questions about her life that will always go unanswered. I wonder what it would have been like to walk in her shoes. If I’d asked Grandma what her life was like at the time my dad was born and his father passed away, what would she have told me? I imagine she might have responded to me in a letter that would have gone something like this – Dear Kathi, You’ve asked me to share…
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Chasing Peace
I’ve had a tough time choosing my annual guiding word for 2018. In my journal, I keep my list of feeling words. They’re words that answer the question, “How do I want to feel when I get up in the morning?” My list is – joyous, beloved, creative, vibrant and wholehearted. Most years I choose from that list or go with something related to one of those words. This year is different. My attention keeps turning to peace. Peace. I want some. It’s difficult to maintain a peaceful disposition at the best of times, even if you’ve been born with one, like me. In today’s environment, it seems harder than…
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Choosing Legacy
When you think about legacy, what do you think of? References in classic literature often refer to legacy in the context of finances, as though a person’s life’s value is based on the money they’ve amassed. A person dies and his beneficiaries inherit a financial legacy. For example, “After my mother’s death, all was to come to me except a legacy of three hundred pounds that I was then to pay my brother.” – Bleak House by Charles Dickins, and “There was also a legacy of one thousand pounds.” – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. Perhaps you think of career legacy, achieved when a person makes his or her mark…
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Sixty Candles on the Birthday Pie
He doesn’t like cake, so we celebrate his birthday with pie. This year it’s a milestone. The big 6–0. It seems like a good time to share some thoughts and feelings about this guy we call The Consultant – son of G-pa, Buddy and Princess’s dad, my husband of thirty-one years. G-pa has known The Consultant the longest, for all of his sixty years. He’s the only one around who has seen him grow from a sweet, redheaded baby boy born in Squamish, B.C. to the lightly greying man that he is now. It occurs to me that G-pa probably has a few untold stories to tell and I’ll have…
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Connection and Commitment
Yesterday, the Consultant and I had a nice connection over our son’s upcoming wedding. We were sitting out in the sun, on the cabin deck, enjoying a glass of wine and working on our speech. The Consultant said he’d like to share some secrets of a lasting relationship with the bride and groom because, of course, we have our track record of longevity. Surely we have many words of wisdom for the young couple. Funny thing is, we think Buddy and Girlfriend have this relationship thing all figured out. They’ve been together over ten years. I remember fairly early in their relationship, Girlfriend came to me a little upset.…
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Who Put the Honey in Your Heart?
A little dab of honey dribbled into my heart the day my mother saw my face and deemed me precious. From that moment honey trickled through my veins and pulsed through my body, enough to last a lifetime. Honey carries golden love that flows only from mother to child, through light kisses, tender embraces and softly sung lullabies. Mom was the sweetest constant in my life. Her heart overflowed with that sticky elixir. Where did she get her honey? Who dripped it into her heart? It was her mom, Grandma Pickle, of course. And hers? I don’t know for sure but I bet I could guess. Down the line it…
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Our Vimy Ridge Connection
The first time I heard of The Battle of Vimy Ridge was at my in-laws’ dining table. The family was sitting about after a delightful meal, with chairs pushed back and arms resting on full stomachs, when my father-in-law pulled out a small, worn, pine box. He spilled its contents onto the table. Three bullet shells rolled past empty wine glasses, along the pale green tablecloth becoming lodged under the edges of crumb-littered dessert plates. “These are the bullets that were extracted from my father – your grandfather – when he was wounded during World War I. Once was at the battle of Vimy Ridge.” He went on to share…
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Building A Life
Do you remember finishing high school or university and wondering, now what? Up until this point in life, everything seemed so nicely laid out for you. You knew you were working toward a diploma or degree to be proud of in the end. You could count on a large friend pool to draw from and knew you’d likely meet your next date somewhere within that system. It was such a neat little package. For many of us, it was fun. Then, that time in life seems to end suddenly. You’re thrust out into the world and there’s so much life stretching out ahead of you, you’re overwhelmed. The landscape looks…
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