blessings. I refuse to suggest luck, becau As 2025 winds to a close, I wanted to reflect on a monumental year in my life—though monumental in its defeats, also. I turned fifty-five, retired from teaching, wrote a new manuscript, continued in my security role at the Canadian Tire Centre, and learned some tough lessons. And I’m sure my grown sons have equally. It was a challenging year, all around, in many regards.  Highlights:  For a few months, I queried my second manuscript,

My birthday is this month. I will be fifty-five, or Freedom 55 as the adage or pithy insurance advertising slogan suggests.  Not entirely coincidentally, my age plus years of work equals eighty-five. I will soon be free from my full-time career, but in this economy, it is not possible for me to be utterly free from paid work. I have a mortgage. I have a line of credit. I helped my three sons with post-secondary education. But I also have meaningful part-time jobs that, luckil

Working Canada-US World Junior Game on New Year's Eve Since it’s that time when some take stock of the year in the rearview and set goals...

I remember having a designated spot in the library throughout my university years that I would love to claim. I loved to read and study in the university library. I would scout out old anthologies of Tennyson or Dickens or devour their pages while my school binders lay open on the desk of the library carrel I had laid claim to for the day. I loved the feel of old books—I even loved the smell. Times have certainly changed. Few academic experiences like that exist today. Sure,

The paradox that “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person” rings true in history and rings true in our lives. I think...

When I was a young beginning teacher, I was lost and overwhelmed. I spent days trying to simply stay on top of classroom management and...

Photo courtesy of Shantelle Paul Recently, I made a disastrous decision. I took matters of hair colour into my own hands. I was...

Last weekend, I braved the most significant ski hill I have ever faced. I only began downhill skiing when my boys were learning, and must...

Some time ago, a family friend ranted to me that her six-year-old daughter was getting too much daily homework. In Grade One. Equally...

My second February post is fittingly about literature that celebrates Black History Month and the demise of #OwnVoices. #OwnVoices was...

“People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them, haven't you? There's...