“To love and to cherish, till death do us part” is a traditional wedding vow that many couples utter. But what do we make of this promise after our marriage has progressed through the years? Divorce, not death, often parts couples. According to Statistics Canada, about 38% of all marriages now end in divorce, slightly […]
DIVISION OF DUTIES
When I entered our Vancouver condo, home alone for a few days, I heard a chirping sound every 90 seconds. It didn’t take long for me to realize the hallway smoke detector needed a new battery. Okay. But that domestic duty belongs to Glen who, at 2,500 km away, wasn’t able to perform it. I […]
DEATH DEFINED ME
Today marks the 47th anniversary of my first grave encounter with death. In the fall of 1970 my best friend Ingrid and I embarked in a camper van we bought used in Edmonton for $1,200 on an adventure across the U.S., from the Pacific coast to Key West in Florida. On our return in the […]
ROAD TRIP ANYONE?
Guest writer Linda Richardson discusses a great North American road trip in this post. In retirement my husband and I decided to combine shorter road trips into a grand circle tour of Canada and the U.S. Over 10 weeks and 21,000 km last fall, we travelled through eight provinces and 37 states. Given the new […]
THE RIGHT LOCATION
We realize being grateful for ordinary things and events in life contributes in a profound way to happiness. And I try regularly to feel — and express — gratitude. At this time of year, it’s easy for Glen and me to feel grateful for our second home in Arizona. Just when grey skies and near […]
VOUCHING FOR VOLUNTEERING
Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” When I retired in 2014, the prospect of limitless leisure did not appeal to me. I knew I would need to add something new to my life to gain pleasure, purpose and pride. Volunteering came to mind. While browsing a website for volunteers, I […]
PET PROJECT
A dog has occupied a prime position in Glen’s and my life together ever since we met decades ago. In the early years a border collie mix named Jude gave us pleasure and occasionally distress when he disappeared following the scent of another dog, likely a female in heat. Thankfully his strong instincts also brought […]
WISDOM WASTED?
If youth is wasted on the young — an observation widely attributed to George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) — then wisdom is wasted on the old. During our lives we experience innumerable events, good and bad, listen to or witness the trials and achievements of family and friends, read hundreds (thousands) of books and newspapers, watch […]
TIME PERCEPTION
We pass time. Kill time. Waste time. Fill time. Lose time. Time flies. Time stands still. How do we perceive time? Time perception refers to our subjective experience of the passage of time, or our perceived duration of events. Unlike our senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch – time cannot be perceived directly. Our brain […]
NEVER TOO LATE TO BE INTERESTING
A few decades ago at a national conference of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, I served as a mentor to an eager young woman, new to her job in Development at Concordia University. “Be an interesting person,” I told her. “In our profession, we will meet people of all ages, from different […]