I’m 67 years old and am now an orphan. I guess. My father recently joined my mother this year in their family plot, in the small prairie town where they both grew up, married, then left for their lifetimes as a military family. In retirement, after four children cast off along the way, they circled … More Grief. Again. Always.
November is such a dreary month. A quote from my book, “Lost Year. A Pandemic Diary 2020” : “There’s a greyness to the month that I dread.” Yes, back in 2020, for sure extra-awful. Nowadays, I plan for the ordinary doldrums. Cruise to the Caribbean! (Hurricane season should be over?) And read. Here’s the books … More 2025 November Read and Review
2025_October October started like summer, but it will end like winter. No snow yet, but the leaves were glorious going through the month. Also a glorious month for reading! Let’s start with a local author purchase while on my Iceland excursion last July. So how about a nice easy read with a guaranteed (predictable, somewhat … More 2025 October Read and Review
The rough summer is over, my executor duties aren’t done, but they’re under control, my father laid to final rest in his Manitoba hometown cemetery with my mother. At 67, I’m an orphan! Time for me? We’ll see. Life goes on. The weather is holding, summer-like but better, crisper. Curling started. My husband is itching … More 2025 September Read and Review
Finally May. Still cool, and rainy, but the buds are visible now and although a bit later than usual, some dandelions are popping their brightness after the slushy gloom of early spring. As I start my reading this month, I pick something at random from the pile (come on, fellow readers, you know what ‘the … More 2025 May Read and Review
Hard to introduce this essay, as it intersects with so many facets of my life. I originally wrote it for a story call about military children and their military generational traditions, but soon realized that it was about how military children fit in a bit sideways growing up in wider non-military families. I also noticed … More My (Non) Military Grandmother
It’s the middle of January and snow is falling here in Aylmer, Quebec. My kids’ hometown. My fellow military brats understand that last, as in, moved so much while growing up that we don’t claim our own “hometown” (See Home. Again and Again about that.) I posted my 2024 Reading List recently, but am not … More 2025 January Read and Review
You know you’re a military brat when… There are many ways to finish this thought. One way that I experienced this past week with my husband (and former brat himself, now a retired military veteran) while on a couple days getaway, is this. You are travelling, sight-seeing in a new area about a day’s drive … More You Know You’re a Military Brat when…
What is it about being 10-11 years old that is so magical? The older I get the more fondly I remember Goose Bay, Labrador. Here’s another excerpt about that favourite base (from “Camp Follower One Army Brat’s Story” by Michele Sabad : “Now, for me, Goose Bay, Labrador was awesome, no matter what my parents … More Goose Bay – Favourite Place and Time
Reading List 2023 January What is it about January? I haven’t had a good start to a year since 2020, and we all remember how that panned out. (For details from this author’s perspective on 2020, check out “Lost Year A Pandemic Diary”.) But back to this January of 2024. Not a good start due … More 2023 – Reading List
Stevie Szabad, Author 