Gratitude: A new word for a new year

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that each January I choose a word to inspire me for the year. In 2015 my word was “goodness” and in 2014 it was “believe.” Both those years had highs and lows but “my word” lifted me...

Canadian repatriation: Month 3

I write about small towns. Both my parents came from small towns, and I spent much of my childhood visiting family and friends in small communities. Since August, though, I’ve lived in a small town. It’s a place where my roots run deep but, like every...

The more things change…

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that my family and I have experienced some big changes recently. From a new country to a new house, from a new brand of washing powder to new shoe and clothing sizes, in the past two months almost every aspect of daily...

Moving away and moving toward

Migration has been a recurring theme in my life and family history.My mother’s ancestors left Ireland in the nineteenth century to seek a better life in what was then the frontier of Canada’s Ottawa Valley.Her lone Scottish ancestor, my great-great...

Finding goodness

As regular readers of this blog know, goodness is my word for 2015. My last post focused on a bend in the road, and how hard it was to find goodness in a difficult life situation.The response to that post overwhelmed me and, just when I thought goodness was scarce, I...