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Full in Slave Lake
My situation never seems quite right. When I’m in Slave Lake, I miss Buddy and Princess. When I’m in Calgary, I miss The Consultant. Whenever I start feeling the “empty” in empty nest, it usually takes a trip to Calgary to visit with my kids, family and friends in order to make it all better. I drive to the city, fill myself up then take all that fullness back to Slave Lake, where I dump myself out through my writing. Living this lifestyle is an adjustment, for sure. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own feelings that I forget it’s not all about me. The Consultant’s nest…
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Writing Family Matters
How many times have you been sitting around the dinner table when a senior family member tells a tale of some past experience and you’re so drawn in, you forget you ate dessert? Before you know it time has flown by, grandpa is ready to go home and you are left craving more. We are pulled into the past as though we are gathered at the storyteller’s feet, listening to a favourite childhood fairy tale, “Once upon a time….” and we are enrapt. We want to know the stories of those who came before us. When I was a child, my Great Aunt Mabel was like that. She knew the…
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Where I’m From
I have always believed that in order to know where you’re headed, you need to know where you’ve been. I was inspired to write my “Where I’m From” piece by Lisa Hall-Wilson. It’s from a fun and easy to follow template shared by Sharla Lovelace. I have linked their posts for your enjoyment. You can find the template here. Why not give it try? Here is what I came up with. Where I’m From… I am from Fanta Orange Soda, Wint-o-Green Lifesavers that sparked in your mouth when you chewed them in a dark closet and grape Popsicles that dripped on your bathing suit after running through the sprinkler on a hot day.…
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Right-Brained Girl in a Left-Brained World
“We are right-brained girls functioning in a left-brained world.” My eldest sister and I say that to each other all the time. Since I have reached the empty-nest stage, my aim is to do something about it. I want to unleash my right-brained, creative self. She’s been dying to get out for years. Somehow my sister and I compromised our creativity. Maybe you have too. In our society, we place the most value on practical left-brainers who work with details, invoices, numbers, formulas and statistics. We can easily grasp left-brain ideas. They are logical, don’t take as much effort to sell and quickly find supporters. We have bought into the…
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The Real Awkward Age
We, empty nesters, are at that awkward age. We wander around looking for a jacket to hang up, a notebook to place on the shelf, a pile of folded laundry to set on an unmade bed. Lost souls searching for someone to shop with or come along on a dog walk, we cook too much food and are surprised when the kitchen looks just the way we left it. We worry. What is my child eating and who with? Do they have enough? Money? Food? Furniture? Spices? Are they getting enough sleep? Exercise? Vitamins? We lack concentration and feel our importance diminished. We are bereft of purpose. Buddy has just moved…
