Sharing your life online is a funny thing. There is so much about it that I love– the connection and community that has come from it has been invaluable to me in so many ways. I often joke that this is my therapy, and somehow knowing that there are kindred spirits in the world reading my ramblings makes me feel less alone in the ups and downs of my life. …but there are hard parts too. I know that I share so much, but even with all that I do, it’s still only a small window into my life. Into my heart. Sometimes it’s hard putting all of that on…

I do my best thinking sitting at the top of the stairs. There are far better options nearby in terms of comfort or solitude, but there’s just something about this perch that has always called to me… in every house I’ve ever lived in. There was a landing two steps down at my childhood home in South Porcupine. It was the perfect nook to read or think if I wanted to escape the happy chaos of the living room below. At my Grandmother’s home in Timmins, it was the perfect spot to hear what was going on downstairs before joining the melee. As family came and went through the house,…

At the front of my house, there is a stone pathway that runs alongside my driveway. For most of the summer, it has been more weeds than walkway, and as much as I’ve tried to give myself some grace about it, I hated looking at it. It was like this visual reminder of all the ways that I was failing. In my head, when we had purchased the house last fall, the walkway was this beautiful pristine path that I had since neglected. So, as I sat on my step one day in late July, I yanked out a weed. And then another. It was strangely fulfilling. I know there…

I recently reconnected with my first grade teacher– a woman who impacted me greatly even at the age of 6. I found her on Facebook, and sent a request, hoping she might remember me. She definitely did, and thus began a beautiful friendship. (Fun fact: I credit her with the fact that in my 36 years of life, I’ve never even held a cigarette. She made us put up our right hand a pledge to never try smoking, and to this day, I never have.). Today, she posted this quote and I swear it was a sign from the universe. A while ago I wrote about a dilemma I was…