Retirement Musings and Everyday Delights
"History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children". Nelson Mandela Almost everyone had a special teacher who had a significant impact on their life. Mine was Mrs. Lenz, my grade 5 and 6 teacher. She helped me come out of my shell without ever forcing me to talk. … Continue reading Sailing into Summer
Earlier this week I got a message from my Norwegian friend, Ragnhild, saying she was in Aberdeen on business and wanted to get in touch with Phil, a mutual Scottish friend. We all attended Stockholm University's International Graduate School in the early 90s, before email was widely available, so many of us lost touch over … Continue reading The Unpredictability of the Past
On the Myers-Briggs personality scale, one of the criteria is intuitive vs sensing, which is basically whether you collect information through observation (the five senses), or through gut instinct. I score 100% on the Intuitive side. My observation skills are virtually non-existent. I don't notice if Ray shaves his beard...or his moustache after decades of … Continue reading Spring Surprises
When I wrote my last post, my sister and I were in the Toronto airport waiting for a delayed Air Canada flight to Vancouver. We did eventually get there, eight hours later than planned. We're now in the Vancouver airport waiting for a delayed Air Canada flight to Toronto. It's scheduled to depart six and … Continue reading Cherry Blossoms and Quality Family Time
Taken on the first official day of spring..."coming soon" sign will not be removed until it feels like spring. I don't think Groundhog Day works for Ontario winters. The groundhog is supposed to predict whether we get an early spring or six more weeks of winter. I'd take either of those options! March has long … Continue reading Overcast With a High Probability of Malaise
In my last post, I wrote about a book where the main character was a death doula. That book was fiction, but The Top Five Regrets of the Dying is written by someone who spent many years working in palliative care. She found that at the end of their lives, people most regretted that they: … Continue reading Autumn Reflections
Ray spent a few days kayaking-cycling-birding-camping near the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. It's migratory season for the warblers and he was lucky enough to see a few being tagged. And, when Ray's away, sisters get to play. When he got back, we spent a weekend pet sitting for a friend who has a lovely … Continue reading Warblers, Mountains and Fjords
We had our second dragon boat festival last weekend, competing against teams from Belleville, Kingston, Trenton, Cobourg, and Peterborough. Brighton entered two competitive mixed teams and one recreational team. After the morning heats, both our competitive teams made it into the A-Division finals, along with the team we beat by two-tenths of a second in … Continue reading Chodura Family Paddle-Sail-Swim-Bike-Run Race Weekend
There's a lot of anger on social media these days, and I've been debating whether I'm being derelict in my civic duty by claiming not to be 'political'. I vote, but I'm not otherwise politically active or vocal about political issues. This has been an ongoing theme in my thoughts recently, prompted by the US … Continue reading Be the Change You Wish to See
In the seven years I've been writing this blog, I've posted at least once every month, usually more than that. March almost became an exception, but I think I can slide in under the wire. March and I have a longstanding...let's call it disdain...for each other. When February comes to a close and I flip … Continue reading Moody March
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