Last night I was hurt by something that I thought my director had done. In the morning I wrote to her about this. She responded by saying that she hadn’t done that. I double checked and, sure enough, she was innocent. I felt like a jerk.[1] The irony is this: Even when I thought …
September 29
Two years ago, I was driving home from the west coast in early September, rather bereft. I was a little scared and a lot lost. You see, I’d been a single mom for almost a decade. I’d been single-mindedly focused on getting my Junior Tribe Members “all growed up”. That meant working, driving, cooking, connecting with …
A Letter to Dahlia: TGDK
Dear Dahlia, Your signature, “TGPF”-Thank Good People Friday is something you are famous for in the city. You have made the city a kinder and gentler place, as you encourage people to express gratitude for a kindness they have received in their lives. Gratitude is a value we both share as vital…so today, for me, on …
Our new door is open!
I’ll be honest..I care about Conexus Counselling so deeply, sometimes it feels like another Junior Tribe Member. It’s a baby of mine. I take it seriously that we impact the lives of hundreds of people every week. And I love that me and some of my favourite people get to work together in space that …
#3 of Top 10: Gracious and Firm in Setting Boundaries
alternate working title: How to Say No to a Beatle It’s a delicate thing, saying no to a Beatle in 1966. There’s an art to it. First you have to say “Yes” to their request to teach them how to play classical Indian music. You happen to be in England anyway and it might be a …
Weighing the cost of overfunctioning…
My recent back injury taught me about the pain and discomfort when one set of muscles under function and another set of muscles compensate to overfunction. Underfunctioners often don’t realize that they are underfunctioning…they just aren’t awake in their life. They don’t realize others are looking after the practical and emotional demands in the world …
Weighing the cost of underfunctioning…
So I hurt my back several months ago. The physiotherapist said I likely ruptured a disc. The pain has been more in my leg than in my back. It’s been not good for several months. I went to see a physiotherapist…Mike’s a prof at the University of Manitoba. I met him when I taught there. …
Husband: How you make my life better
Dear Husband, Remember on the front porch a few weeks ago, the sun was streaming in, and we had fresh, steaming mugs in front of us? Remember how, as part of the morning’s conversation, you took the time to carefully and thoughtfully tell me about how I make your life better? It would have followed for …
#4 of Top 10: Imagine the Whole Game
“You’ll be an old grandpa. And I’m going to be a daddy.” – James Walsh, age 3, imagining the whole game. This post is about taking the long view and, thus, is the natural follow up to #5: Catch the Ball. In Catch the Ball we talked about the need to focus first on our …
Sorry…Not Sorry
I’m sorry. As Canadians we are notoriously known for being polite, with comedy sketches and internet pictures frequently mocking our excessive kindness and propensity towards apologies. We often read this as a favorable quality, this readiness to assume responsibility for a minor infraction or social inconvenience – but what does frequent apologizing really say about …