October is a month of gratitude

It is gratitude which allowed me to accept the loss of my mom and dad. At first the loss is unimaginable . One cannot process a loss so profound. It is difficult to accept that they are no longer with us. Over time , sorting through photos, letters and cards, there is an opportunity to..

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We were making memories

All through the caregiving years, we were still making memories although I did not realize then, how precious our caregiving memories would become. Every life stage matters. Even though your parent or loved one cannot do everything they once did, there is still a beautiful bond, and time spent together is precious , whether it..

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The Christmas the power went out

Christmas day some years ago, we had just finished our turkey dinner when the power went out. We were a small group that yearā€¦..only my elderly parents, sister, my husband and I. We sat in the living room, candles lit, and decided to tell about Christmases past. My sister and I shared stories of visiting the Eatonā€™s Santa in the ā€˜50s..

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An Invisible Presence

It is said that ā€those we love donā€™t go away, they walk beside us every day ā€ . I heard those lovely comforting words on many occasions, and yet the depth of those words and the truth of the words is more evident to me now, when some years have passed since the loss of..

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Apple Picking Time

Itā€™s September . It is apple picking time and the scent of apple sauce cooking on the stove brings back a flood of memories of my parentsā€™ little backyard orchard! The trees were planted when my dadā€™s retirement years began. It was a new hobby for him and he kept meticulous records about each tree..

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Summer Traditions

Summer traditions live on through the generations. One such tradition was the old carousel at Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario in St. Catharines. There was once an amusement park there in the 1950s and our family went every summer , enjoying the beach, the airplane ride, the ā€˜caterpillarā€™, bumper cars and of course , the..

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The Three Elves

There they are, looking at me, while I work in the garden. They are ā€˜the three elvesā€™ looking somewhat bedraggled now as they work away in my garden , with their worn out tools. They have been a part of the family for over thirty years now, but I cannot let myself part with them…

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