How To Help a Person Who is Depressed and in Crisis.


Today my morning was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Expecting a package, I answered the door to find one of my daughter’s friends standing there. They said they had gotten off of their school bus and started to walk…..until they ended up at my house. Although it was a long story, and not uncomplicated, it boiled down to this- one…

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Weird Psychic Connection


Let me say this first- I don’t like dill pickle flavour chips. I don’t really like dill pickle flavour anything. I do love dill pickles- but the real thing. So, today, I was perusing the snack cupboard, trying to decide what to eat. Whenever I’m getting ready to have a snack, I try to imagine the taste of whatever I’m…

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Friends with Emily Dickinson


“Camper van season” flew by (aka Spring, when everyone brings them out to get ready for summer vacations) and now it is Summer. You can smell the heat today- it smells like baking and soil and moss. It feels like being wrapped in a blanket of sunshine. My favourite little weirdos are on summer vacation, the peas in my pod.…

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Didn’t We Have Easter Just Last Month?


When Covid-19 started, I had a feeling it would last years, and I felt ready for it. My optimism ruled. I love my home and, as a shy, socially awkward, introvert, hardly leave it, anyway. My thought was- how will my life really change? I would make a wonderful shut-in hermit type! Plus, I don’t live alone: I won’t be…

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Homeschooling Essentials for My Autistic Son.


My son has high-functioning autism (formerly known as Aspergers) and is participating in the guided homeschooling program. In Alberta, Canada, it’s called HUB learning. Deciding whether or not to send him to school this year was a tough choice! But, almost half a year in, I don’t have any regrets. The big deciding factor was the way Hunter stims. A…

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If Hunter and I ruled the world….


If Hunter and I ruled the world, the week would look like this: Sunday, Second Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. This week has been hard. Lots of pushback and brutal emotional honesty from Hunter. On top of that, a full day of freak-outs and meltdowns. (Knowing the difference between tantrums and meltdowns has been key in changing my parenting…

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