Behind Blue Eyes

  “You’ve got the most beautiful blue eyes!…I’d think with eyes like that, doors would open for you!” “Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. I’m having a rough day.” Her rough day was a lot different than a rough day for you or me. If her friend decided not to let her stay in her…

No Nursing Homes, Please!

Two women. One’s about to turn 90, and the other one’s already 91. They’ve lived totally different lives but share something in common. Both are fiercely independent and have no intention of stepping foot inside a nursing home. My Mom turns 90 on the ninth day of the ninth month this year. Mom’s raised six…

Imperceptible

Sometimes my perception of things is totally wrong. Take the other night, for instance. I got up out of bed in the middle of the night. This isn’t an unusual occurrence. I didn’t turn on a light so as to not wake my hubby. I know my way around the bedroom in the dark. Not a problem.…

Hope for the Homeless

  This week I spotted chamomile growing in the alley near the homeless shelter. Always a little beauty to be found among the weeds and concrete. Chicken and penne were served for lunch. When they were depleted, a big stock pot of hearty vegetable soup was available, plus crackers. Big Ant and I cut up…

A Raincoat of Hope

If there’s beauty to be found in an alley with broken pavement near a shelter full of people with broken dreams, trust me to find it. Today, there was a strawberry yarrow plant growing wild. I’m not going to tell you how much I paid for a similar plant at a garden centre! It brightened…

A Heart of Gold

She’s done so much for others, struggled through more than a person should in life and still manages to keep on keeping on…Sarah-Lynn Ellis has volunteered at Street Help Homeless Centre in Windsor for years. She helps with cooking, serving, cleaning, handing out hygiene packages, washing dishes, sorting clothes, taking out the garbage and yup,…

Faith

She spoke barely any English, and when she did it was in a quiet, soft voice. Like how you’d speak if you’re unsure of correct pronunciation. She was a young woman, dressed in a black floor-length, flowing dress with a matching hijab. I assumed she was married, with children. You see, the amount of food…

Some Like It Hot!

  Great day at the shelter! When I arrived, the tuna sandwiches were finished and we were only serving soup. Two kinds of soup: cabbage soup and “spicy soup”, which is what we called a hearty lentil soup. A homeless man told me,” See how red my face is? And, see how I’m sweating? It’s not…