The Winter Solstice is upon us. We have arrived, hopefully intact, to bid adieu to the shortest day of the year and the longest night of winter. For many pagans like my friend, Joan, Winter Solstice is the only occasion that warrants celebration during a marathon month completely hijacked by Christmas. Whether you worship Christ …
My husband just announced, « Dick Van Dyke turned one hundred. », and I’m like, « What, again?». It seems like I have been hearing about this milestone birthday forever. It turns out today is his actual birthday. Now that we have all arrived, can we please move on to Dick turning 101? I’ll be honest, his pathological …
I find myself in a quandary the past two weeks over a minor detail of my Christmas dinner planning. I have gone through the same dilemma three years in a row and have never managed to resolve it. I probably shouldn’t refer to it as a quandary, it certainly isn’t a matter of life or …
Sixty years ago today, I was born on an elephant in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, formerly Orissa, on the Bay of Bengal, to a Punjabi father and a Welsh mother. This birthday is particularly painful because my dad died this past July and he was a true aficionado when it came to birthday …
As I sat in front of my laptop watching my son’s high school convocation via live stream, I was suddenly struck by how alone I felt. Not surprising considering I was watching the ceremony by myself. We received the convocation protocol only a few days ago. Unfortunately, Sean’s dad was working evenings and couldn’t attend …
It was my son’s last full day of high school today. My husband, who isn’t Sean’s biological father, asked me how it felt to be the parent of a child finishing high school. To be honest, I hadn’t really considered how I felt because I so rarely live in the present moment. If he’d asked …
Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada, a day that recognizes and celebrates the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. Over the past few years, I have made a conscious effort to learn more about these peoples, avoiding sources from a distinct colonial perspective (for example, government-approved, …
What do you get your 90 year old, low vision dad for Father’s Day, when he says he doesn’t need or want anything? You get him a pair of drawstring Tommy Hilfinger shorts, and a box of 36 black Sharpie markers so he can read his own notes and ours. And Indian take-out, medium spicy. …
Happy Diwali! Yesterday, I picked up an order of samosas and barfi for my dad at a local Indian restaurant/sweet shop. While showing us around Delhi on family trip to India in November 2001, our tour guide (who happened to be Hindu and who took us around mostly Hindu temples) was emphatic « We are …
It’s my dad’s 89th birthday today. Since the first time he nearly died during cardiac surgery, eleven years ago to the day, my dad has set his sights on making it to 90. A natural extrovert and party-man (his idea of a good time is making sure his guests practice the deadly sin of gluttony), …
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