As a funeral celebrant, I hold an affiliate membership with the Alberta Funeral Service Association. Recently, I attended a daylong Dealing with Grief conference in Edmonton; the keynote speaker was the Australian-born psychiatrist David Kissane. Dr. Kissane is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, professor of psychiatry… Read more »
The village I live near has a population of less than 500. The school, which houses kindergarten to grade 12, has a combined population of around 200. In that context, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the high school graduation class numbers anywhere from 12 to 15 kids. Yet It’s a big deal. The local weekly… Read more »
As life settles back to what we laughingly refer to as normal, I’m amazed at the number and complexity of thoughts and actions that have consumed us for the past few weeks. We can thank adrenaline, the urgency created by the relentless march of time, and a strong work ethic for getting us through. Most… Read more »
For the past several days and until the rain stopped our harvest efforts, I was operating our John Deere 7720 combine. It is hydrostatic, which allows me to control my forward and backward movement without having to step on a clutch pedal and change gears. This is a blessing when operating the machine for 10… Read more »
I love Johnny Reid’s distinctive voice and humble nature. With our appreciation for his hits like ?Dance with Me,? ?Thank You,? ?Darlin?,? and more, we leapt at the chance to see him in concert in Edmonton. Apparently others agreed, because he performed to four sell-out crowds in the city’s Jubilee Auditorium. We managed to get… Read more »
Like all good mothers (and fathers), I am available to my children when they need advice or blood, sweat, and tears. For Greg and Carrie, that may involve babysitting our precious grandson Grady. It doesn’t happen often enough because we live an hour away and have full lives of our own. Hilary is another story…. Read more »
There are many other things I could have done today. Let me count the ways. I could have vacuumed and halted the rampant reproduction of dust bunnies. I might have researched a creative way to cook the six pounds of lean ground beef in the fridge. Or maybe I should have begun yanking out the… Read more »
If a teacher asked me to write about ?how I spent my weekend,? I’d have a doozy. First, some background. On September 4, I felt light-headed while showering. I sat on the edge of the tub until I felt better. I chalked it up to a case of nerves before my first funeral as a… Read more »
One day while channel surfing, I stumbled across a TV show about hoarding. Just as many gravitate toward gawking at fires and traffic accidents despite the tragedy and gruesome images, I found it impossible not to continue watching. It felt voyeuristic and invasive, but captivating nonetheless, to see inside the homes of people who were… Read more »
Allow me to retell a story told to us this afternoon by a salesman named Allan. A quick and dirty analysis reveals a story arc, tension, interesting characters, humour, climax, and resolution. But how much of a story’s appeal comes from the teller and the telling? Impending death was the catalyst for the remembering and… Read more »