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The author, David, Miriam and Sean in Antigonish, Nova Scotia - 2016 Mornings were often difficult for me in the first few years of adjusting to having a family after living 48 years on my own with only a big white fluffy dog and myself to manage. Having three, sometimes four people in the house, … Continue reading Lessons from my Hero

There is a French colloquialism that goes “trop de la pain sur la planche” or “too much bread on the board.” It is meant to describe being too busy, having too much to do. Before the 19th Century, the same phrase was used to describe being comfortable with one's resources; having enough to get by. … Continue reading Rabbits on the Beach – Both/And

In my experience, dragonflies have never posed a physical threat. I teased David once that he must have some Disney princess in him when a persistent dragonfly kept landing on his face and t-shirt while we walked in the woods one day. They seemed to be a random but consistent theme for gifts for me … Continue reading Speaking of Dragonflies

Mom and Dad are doing it again. They know how to talk in a different language, and they do it when they don’t want me to know they’re talking about. I’m four, turning five soon, going to be a big girl. They’re talking about my birthday present. I know that much. “Should we get her … Continue reading Definitely Ambivalent – dispatches from my inner child

My dad, Reynold (Ren, Rennie) Bertolo, was a kind, gentle man with a dry sense of humour that often left people wondering whether or not he was joking at all. He loved the rugged landscape of northern Ontario and the north shore of Lake Superior; he was a gifted artist, painter and cartoonist; he loved … Continue reading Coughs, colds, sore holes – a list for Fathers’ Day

In today's mail from Tom Granger As I’ve alluded to previously, I left my career as a political aid at the end of the Canadian federal election in October 2019. Without being sure of what would come next, I knew that I needed to rest, to grieve, and to heal. I knew, too, that I … Continue reading In unexpected places

I was enrolled in an online learning group a while back in which people would type that they were “going rouge” when they deviated from the suggested plan. It was used so commonly that I began to think it was part of the group’s lexicon rather than a typo. Either way, it’s become part of … Continue reading Going Rouge

Einstein in winter, his favourite season In January, before all of the pandemic shit hit the fan, it became clear that Einstein, my precious white fluffy 17 year old soulmate, wasn’t going to decide to leave us on his own, that we’d have to make that heartbreaking decision for him. His body was giving out, … Continue reading A road trip on the cusp of Covid

This is not what I expected to be writing as part of my debut in the blogging world. Then again, neither is this is the world I looked forward to a year ago. The world is on fire. We’ve heard that before, about climate change ravaging the planet; and for most of 2020 because a … Continue reading A Better world

A long time ago, in the beforetime – long before a pandemic changed our lives – when I was single and searching, I moved from my hometown with a dream in my heart and not a pot to piss in. I bunked at the house occupied by the little red haired girl, her mom, dad … Continue reading Becoming Neen