Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come. – Alexander Pope The ants are in my dahlias and they are killing my beautiful flowers. I bought the two small pots earlier in the …
“When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on” ― Theodore Roosevelt retrieved from woman.thenest.com I am sitting at the back of the Bayliner, watching the waves gently rock us to and fro as we idle in the water. Husband is at the helm, and I am flanked by three …
Summer is totally the boss. She’s the queen bee, the head honcho, the top dog. The boss of all the seasons. And why, you ask? Because I am sitting on my step in shorts and a tank top, sheltering my face from the gorgeous sun while writing this post. A breeze gently rustles the tree …
We spend much of our time pursuing happiness, joy, contentment. Peaceful bliss. But what of the experience that sadness brings? When grief descends upon us, enveloping with a haze of memories and emotions, do we try to escape its embrace? Do we turn our hearts from pain? Shelter our feelings from any knowledge of the …
Parenting is, of course, the most consuming, challenging and exhausting task that I have ever involved myself in. Some days I ask: “what were we thinking???” And on the other days, I just don’t ask. And speaking of “we”, I readily admit that marriage is a very close second in this listing of difficult things …
The other day, I left Alberton with four belligerent children and three others (people who were, incidentally, astonished by the commotion going on in our van). I departed the area absolutely stunned by the severity with which we battle it out over here in the Gard Household: it matters not where we find ourselves. Mill …
It is disheartening, to say the very least, to realize yet again that the public’s perception of your work as a professional is characterized as being whiny, over-paid, indulged, lazy, self-centered and existent so as to be servile. I have spent the past number of years in deep contemplation of my teaching practice- writing, thinking, …
It is becoming very difficult for teachers across North America to convince the public of the need to fight for education, to support the deeply felt emotions and beliefs directed toward ideals and professional standards that we teachers have come to espouse. Why is this? When the issue at hand for everyone in the ‘real …
I wonder—what the world would be like if we were only able to see the best in the people around us. If we could just see through to the good that lies within. Wonder what it would be like if we were truly able to forgive. Truly able to let go. Able to release and …
“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world; for indeed, that’s all who ever have.”- Margaret Mead The writing I do is largely about my vision of how attentive care impacts within the school system. Yet in my awareness of care that I ascribe to, I truly believe care is fundamental to …
We spent our 19th wedding anniversary very much like we do every other day. Organizing belongings for four kids going in a few different directions. Getting breakfast. Making beds. Cleaning up. Working. Coming home to four hungry children who wanted more food (again). Cleaning up. You got the picture… Which is to say: we spent …
We labour, side by side, in the fading light of day. It is pitch black night when we finally find ourselves putting back together that which was torn apart. Fixing that which was broken. Restoring all to a temporary semblance of normalcy. At 19 years of marriage (Husband told everyone that “we’ve had 10 years …
