Welcome Spring
A strange sound greeted me as I stepped out the back door the other day. I paused for a second to determine its source. Birds! Hundreds of birds sat in our big maple trees, singing joyfully. No robins...
View ArticleLang zal ze leven!
For my mother-in-law’s 50th birthday I gave her two more grandchildren. Okay, Jack helped. But I still think I outdid myself. Time flies. I can’t believe my sweet twins turn 40 this year. (Their “baby”...
View ArticleSummer of ‘65’
In the summer of 1965 Jack and I were both happy-go-lucky nine-year-olds, living life between grades three and four. We grew up about 15 miles apart. Although we never met, I wonder if maybe we ever...
View ArticleIt’s about time
Among my fondest childhood memories are summer nights spent sprawled flat out on the lawn, studying the starry sky with my father. He showed me how to find the Big Dipper, Little Dipper and the North...
View ArticleA life well lived
“Debra’s been transferred to hospice,” said Bob. “So if you’d like to see her, you should probably do it soon.” My heart sank. We knew it was coming, but we clung to the futile hope that there might be...
View ArticleShe rides again!
Like small, dark clouds dotting the horizon, I should have recognised those random twinges as indicators of a bigger issue to come. While riding my motorcycle last year I noticed odd little surges of...
View ArticleWeather or not
Had King David lived in Ontario, I think a September day might well have inspired him to write Psalm 19. You know the sort – where the sapphire sky beckons your gaze irresistibly upward and your heart...
View ArticlePa-rum-pa-pum-pum
It was an annual tradition back in my days at College Street Public School. Every Friday morning from mid-November until Christmas break, the whole school – grades one through eight – crammed into a...
View ArticleAlways and forever
The photo on my desk was taken 71 years ago. It shows my in-laws on their wedding day – February 14, 1951. Dad looks dapper in his dark, double-breasted suit; Mom is resplendent in her gorgeous white...
View ArticleBad habits die hard
Lent affords a marvelous opportunity for self-examination. Honest soul-searching never fails to amplify the wonder of God’s mercy. Rather than give up some small indulgence for Lent this year, I...
View ArticleConsider the robins
Legend has it that the person who spots the first robin will have good luck all year. Our robins arrived several weeks ago and they didn’t look too lucky – hunkering down under the evergreens, feathers...
View ArticleTell me a story
Stories were an integral part of my childhood. Both of my parents were talented storytellers with no shortage of interesting material: a childhood in pre-war Germany, life through WWII and immigration...
View ArticleBlessed are the flexible
“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” So they say. You know – Hakuna Matata people. They roll with the punches, go with the flow. Me? I’ll take routine and...
View ArticleA joyful melancholy
As I’m writing, it’s late summer – the season for Niagara peaches, sweet corn and sun ripened tomatoes. Nature’s bounty flows from the generous hand of its Creator. Turning the calendar to August used...
View ArticleHigh hopes
A kid in a candy shop – there I stood in front of the rack of flower seeds. Any of them would look spectacular in my garden. Decisions, decisions. But really there was no contest – sunflowers were the...
View ArticleA Spirit Thing
Jack and I were newlyweds when the “Charismatic Movement” swept through the church. Yes, even in small town Ontario, even in Reformed circles. I had only become a Christian a few years earlier. Eager...
View ArticleCrystal clear
A lead crystal vase graces the shelf of our old hutch. I hold it, feeling its familiar weightiness. My finger traces the fluted rim until it catches on a jagged point and I’m transported back to my...
View ArticleAs time goes by
What’s the best part of ageing? For me it’s the memories. Even better than seniors’ discounts, I have a storehouse of treasured memories to draw from. They often come to mind when I least expect them,...
View ArticleKitchen chaos
Why did I ever agree to kitchen cabinet refinishing in December? The little voice in my head practically screamed: Just say ‘No!’ December is already busy enough. True. But they happened to have an...
View ArticleA 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...
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