Reflecting on the last 6 months, draws into perspective how much life can change but paradoxically also stays the same. I’ve written about travels near and far. Explored my fascination with people yet my desire at times for solitude. My daughter and I ventured to Brazil (here and here), road tripped to the Gulf of Mexico and fell in love with camping. There have been a number of challenges that I’ve shared as I’ve navigated loss, grief and mental fatigue. On the heels of those challenges, I feel that I found new possibilities, new adventures and even enjoyed drinking some old memories. Continue reading “Six Months and Counting”
Widowed Parenting: Stress, Anxiety, And The Fear Of Never Enough
Reading Becky Nolan’s accurate account of parenting as a widow, I am reminded that what has become my normal is not normal at all. I remember the intense stress and anxiety of trying not to further “mess up” my daughter’s future as I struggled through my bizarre and terrifying new reality. While some of those emotions at times subside to tolerable levels, I still struggle and feel that I do not give enough mental space, support and time to her. Logically, I know I do the best I can. Emotionally, I feel my daughter deserves more than one parent can give.
Parenting is the hardest job in the world. So much rides on everything you do, every decision you make, and even who you are. The future of the tiny humans who call you mom or dad rests on your shoulders. The pressure is insurmountable.
Widowed parents know the stress and anxiety of parenting better than anyone. I am a widowed parent to my three year old toddler. I have been parenting alone for the last two years, since she was 13 months old. I guess in some ways it might be easier for me because I’ve always been a “single” parent to my toddler. I never knew what it was like to co-parent a toddler. I lost my husband when she was an infant, I never had the chance to settle into a parenting routine because by that age the routines were constantly changing. And on top of that, I’ve…
View original post 1,037 more words
An Event Apart
We’ve hand numerous family memories formed at College Royal. Started in 1925, it is the largest university open house event of its kind in North America. The University of Guelph welcomes over 20,000 members of the public in a campus-wide open house. We have explored the livestock shows of the agricultural college, the teddy bear surgery at the veterinary college and certainly sampled the ice cream and milkshakes of the Food Science department. There is fun for everyone!!! I hope to see you there.
Transparency and Animal Experimentation
What is transparency? According to McLeod and Hobson-West, the answer depends on your perspective. Education and transparent sharing of selected information is utilized by the animal research community to counter misinformation and mischaracterizations of the use of animals in science. Anti-vivisection groups contend that research institutions misrepresent the nature of animal research and believe transparency will illuminate these secrets. While funding agencies and governments wish to enhance trust in science and government by increasing transparency. All of these groups want an increase in transparency but their definitions and desired outcomes differ significantly. Continue reading “Transparency and Animal Experimentation”
Sorting Goodbyes
The approaching move to Vancouver has necessitated a purging of “STUFF” we’ve collected over the years. Much of my evenings are spent looking at 16 years of paraphernalia that we should have tossed years ago. Nevertheless, we had the space and decided to keep it just in case we needed it. Really, when do you ever need it again? My Saturdays culminate with delivering another carload of donations to the local reuse shop. While Sundays I sort equal amounts of garbage and recyclable materials. Tuesday night I hit a roadblock. Well, more accurately a speed-bump. Continue reading “Sorting Goodbyes”
Uncomfortably Lucky
Visiting my parents in Florida, I fall into an uncomplicated morning routine of sipping coffee on the patio with my mother and venturing into the surf for walks with my father. My daughter laughs with her grandparents, makes up games in the pool and enjoys the unplanned adventures we happen upon. Does life get any better than this? But, I struggle to reconcile how easy it was for us to arrive here. We got in our car and appeared on the Gulf of Mexico after driving for 20 hours. Listening to the constant rhythmic roll of the waves breaking over the sand, I’m feeling uncomfortably lucky. Continue reading “Uncomfortably Lucky”
Road Trip!
We are in Kentucky at a rest stop on interstate 71, south of Cincinnati. We excitedly departed Fergus Ontario today at 4:00 am. It’s snowing! How did we get here? Continue reading “Road Trip!”
My Haiku
Graceful buoyancy
Intensity distinguished
My heart shall it be
UBC PhD
Received this in the mail on Monday and the graduate opportunities I’ve been exploring with Dr. Dan Weary in the Animal Welfare Program at the University of British Columbia got VERY REAL!!!
Motorcycle Dreamin’
Last week I had a dream. Not just any dream. It was the kind of dream that was based in the mundane routine of everyday life. However, it took an expected turn! I dreamt about riding my motorcycle. A vision like this is well understood by those riders out there coping through the long winter months of the northern hemisphere, restrained to our four-wheel vehicles. I miss my bike! In my dream, the temperature was similar to my last ride of season – cold. I was riding a short distance from my house to the local sports complex when to my surprise it turned into a tropical oasis! What-what!?! The pavement has turned into sand and the main entrance had morphed into a rustic tienda with an ocean backdrop. Continue reading “Motorcycle Dreamin’”
Michael W Brunt 