Black turtlenecks

My husband’s best friend and business partner skied off a cliff last April and was killed instantly. We flew to Edmonton for the funeral; in the cab, we saw the airport flags at half-mast. The driver wondered why, but we knew. Flags flew at half-mast all over the...

Happy Mothers’ Day: Please plant a tree!

I never thought I would become such an ardent environmentalist.  I did women’s issues; my husband did environmental issues.  But I am celebrating Mothers’ Day by doing a little something for Mother Earth.  We need her, and she really needs us right now. I used to...

Ages and Stages

My son is in the last stages of high school, stands six feet tall, and will qualify to vote in whatever election looms on the horizon next. This fully-grown citizen decided in May that the time had come to get rid of his childhood collection of stuffed animals. I...

Super Woman or Mad Woman?

This weekend I went off to the cottage with my book club, a group of eight wonderful women, which is still going strong after twelve years. One member died last year of cancer. Other members have weathered divorce, chronic illness, career ups and downs. Children have...

One Step Forward, Two Steps…

Are things getting better for women? I sure would like to think so. Books and magazine articles are coming out in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. saying an increasing and surprising number of married women make, not just as much, but actually more than their husbands....