Flowers for Mom
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Flowers for Mom

Dear Mom, It’s been so long since we’ve talked. I never had the chance to say goodbye. We all expected you to come home from the hospital the next day. But that changed. Forever. I think of you often. I have a lifetime of good memories. When I got engaged to Jack one of the…

Pilgrim Days
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Pilgrim Days

When you read this, I will be within 100 km of the end of a pilgrimage for the second time. Together with my husband and three children, I’ll be spending this Easter walking the Camino de Santiago. For my children, it will be a first. My husband and I were pilgrims in 2005 before our…

A Father’s love
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A Father’s love

“Wait ‘til your father gets home!” How many times did my miscreant behaviour provoke those words from my mother’s lips? Make no mistake – Ma had a penchant for law and order and she was quite capable of meting out immediate discipline. But this was her trump card for especially exasperating infractions. Did she realize…

Family Links
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Family Links

My mother came to visit recently and brought a gift that surprised me. It was a gold chain, one of the pieces of jewellery she has worn most often. She gave it to me as I was helping her unpack, and at first, I wasn’t sure if she meant it. The chain sits secure in…

What teens want their parents to ask 
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What teens want their parents to ask 

Dear Parents and Caretakers,  Something needs to be brought to your attention: your child needs you. This might seem obvious, but I think more time needs to be spent contemplating this statement. It is well known that Gen Zs are significant recipients of mental health struggles. Increased pressures – both academic and societal – as…

My worst birthday yet
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My worst birthday yet

It might have been my worst birthday yet: a four a.m. wake-up call from a child who hasn’t slept well since we uprooted years ago. A child with a stomach bug. Another’s meltdown that involved screams so deep they felt existential (and maybe like mourning). A job that has always felt beyond my grasp, which…

Love works differently
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Love works differently

The day was sharp with cold but the sky was clear, and my grandmother wanted a walk. I’d come all this way, after all, she reminded me. No point in wasting the day inside. She lived alone in the last of her little houses, and, as a university student, I could get there on the…

Enduring the Longest Night
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Enduring the Longest Night

I remember about five years ago, newly separated and in the thick of depression and emotional pain, I attended my church’s Blue Christmas service. It was my first Christmas in this new reality of no longer being a family of four, and I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. And this service – created…

One Glorious Mess, Together
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One Glorious Mess, Together

“Yes to your snotty mess coming on Saturday. That would be glorious!” was the text I sent to my one sister, hours before her arrival.  Holidays are messy. There’s no way around it. Loved ones spill into our hallways and living rooms and bedrooms, filling them with the sounds of laughter and sniffly noses and…

The Loss of a Child
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The Loss of a Child

“Mom, I don’t feel so good.” Little did I know that those words, spoken by my 24-year-old son, would be life changing. It was Thanksgiving Day in 2010 and I had just started our routine Thanksgiving day. Getting the dinner prepared and on the table for me and my son. I’m not the greatest cook…

Called to one roof
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Called to one roof

Home ownership is out of reach for many Canadians. Especially for those living in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto where the average price of a house is $1.09 million, $1.24 million and $1.35 million respectively. Individuals and families living in these hot housing markets also suffer from some of the highest rent prices in the country….

The Sound of Community
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The Sound of Community

“Good morning, friends! It’s great to see so many faces today.” So begins the daily music singalong sessions with musician (and friend) Mendelt Hoekstra on Zoom. Mendelt creates connections for adults and youth with developmental disabilities across Ontario. Participants attend from their group homes, independent living dwellings and classrooms. Rachel and Janneke attend while at…