I’m unsure about ghosts. Do they exist? Maybe. Do they not exist? Maybe. But I do romanticize connections — or what some people might call coincidences. A couple of years ago, for example, I was meant to be on vacation but was instead overthinking and over-worrying a work problem. While I was fussing, I set …
Throughout elementary school in the small town where I grew up, I was in Brownies and Girl Guides. Every November, we sold poppies to support the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Selling poppies meant going door to door in northern Alberta, freezing our butts off. This was still when dresses were a mandatory …
When we told our grandpa we planned to get married one day, we weren’t much older than in the above photo. Grandpa responded that cousins aren’t allowed to get married, and I remember feeling perplexed. Why wouldn’t I be allowed to marry this boy, when playing together was one of the best parts of my …
Have you ever heard a quote and not been able to let it go? I was recently at a workshop with someone I haven’t seen in years. During dinner, I remembered how much I love listening to all the things she thinks about. At one point, she said something to the effect of, “You have …
Here’s an easy-to-swallow statement: I think it’s sad when people die. I’m going to assume most people generally agree with me there. But let’s digress for a moment. (Although I’m pretty sure you’ll see where I’m headed.) A few days ago, I completed a government survey on supervised drug consumption sites. As I wrote in …
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I decided to change career tracks a couple years ago, and ended up going back to school. I think one of the best things at any level of education is the people you meet, and I was lucky to make a bunch of new friends – including several …
A rainy day seems as good a time as any to finish off this blog post that I started a couple of weeks ago after visiting Fort McMurray for the first time since the devastating wildfire of May 2016. I grew up in the boreal forest, and past trips to Fort McMurray often reminded me …
When I set up this blog, I deliberately didn’t say how often I’d post to it. I did say that one of my hesitations was related to whether I’d be committed enough to keep the blog going. In my head, I told myself I’d try to write something about every two weeks. According to that schedule, …
