Daisy Days!

You might say I had it coming. I was warned, after all. Ten days ago, my neighbour told me, “Rita, you have a little time but not much. It’s going to get cold, very cold! Just you wait and see! All of the leaves are going to drop.” He’d been doing yard work on a…

Wedding Planning 101

I don’t think I’ll give up my career as a nurse to become a wedding planner any time soon. But, things went well; great, even! There was never a more joyous bride than my daughter, Giselle. As far as for wedding planning, it all came down to logistics. The mother of the bride—that’d be me—couldn’t…

Thousand Word Thursdays #37

Lucy, the Dog of Honour, at my daughter’s wedding rehearsal. Deer Run, Blenheim, Ontario.  

To Everything There Is A Season…

Life is busy. Glancing around my home the other day, I noticed a few things out of place. Two brilliant red hearts still hung from the kitchen ceiling. They were displayed there for Valentine’s Day. Another Valentine’s Day decoration, a heart-shaped bunch of flowers remains in the foyer. A Christmas ornament was found hanging on a plant.…

A Cross to Wear

I told the older woman behind the counter at the dress shop that I liked her cross. Funny how those words opened up a conversation. She looked beyond retirement age but I’d watched her move expertly through the store: measuring brides-to-be for wedding gowns and teens for their prom dresses, and fetching yet another outfit…

Her Own Gift!

“Mom, sh#t happens. And, we cope.” Wise words from my daughter, Giselle, the bride-to-be. I planned to write this week-end’s blog post about my shower gift to her. However, time is short. And, so will be this post! Sure, we all hear “sh#t happens” but do you vent and carry on about it? How, life isn’t…

A Fantastic Day!

We’ve all had rotten days. Days where nothing goes right. Every time something goes wrong, we reinforce it. We tell anyone within earshot, “See? Nothing is going right today! But, what if we focused on what went well? Well, on Thursday, I tried that approach. A day where everything went wonderful… I had planned the…

Identity Theft??

I should’ve known better. It had to be a scam. It didn’t add up. I was beating myself up for being sucked in. Again. This was worse than the time I received the e-mail asking me to click on a link to update my credit card info. That situation took a half-hour on the phone…

Kazuko: Japanese for “Harmony”-#2

  After graduating from the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, Kazuko was informed she could attend school two years further to obtain her high school diploma. Two more years! She was almost 36 years old at the time! Kazuko thought back to what her life would’ve been like if she’d never come to…