Being Sarah’s Niece

My Aunt Sarah was a real gem. She passed away on Maundy Thursday, after a four year journey with ovarian cancer, and she is going to be SO missed. To be a niece of Aunt Sarah was a gift. She loved creating and sustaining traditions for us as a family, like getting all ten nieces…

Things I learned on leave

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently took a four week leave from The Dale, and then returned in a part time capacity for another two weeks. There were a number of factors that led to my need for some time off, most of which were actually unrelated to my work here. However,…

Hug delivery

It was the day that we learned of Ash’s death, a Sunday. Meg and I received the Dale’s food delivery from Second Harvest in the morning, then Erinn led our church service in the afternoon with back up from me and Olivia. Our friend Mike (who we hadn’t seen in many months) popped in before…

You made us feel like us

Hey Ash. I’m still finding it really hard to fathom that you’re not here anymore. You left really suddenly, and none of us saw it coming. There are SO many people who miss you, and are aching from your absence. The first time I met you was probably 8 or 9 years ago. You were…

Holding on with Letting Go

Two years ago I was in the throes of planning a Day of Lament for myself and fellow front line workers; an attempt to help us process (at least some of) the cumulative grief that comes from loving people who have hard lives, and then losing too many in too short a time. My dear…

Yay for community!

Today I am feeling just so grateful for the collective power of community, for a few specific reasons: The Dale started a GoFundMe just before Christmas, to help a community member pay for an essential surgery for his dear dog. Thanks to our amazing network of supporters, the full $2000 has been raised, and we’re…

Keep on Trucking

Hi all. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote here! On December 8th, The Dale and Christ Church St. James (CCSJ) teamed up for an afternoon of carolling and Christmas goodies/winter necessities in the parkette outside the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Center (PQWCHC). It was a snow globe-y kind of a…

Taking care

Last week during our breakfast-to-go drop-in, I noticed a woman speaking earnestly with Meagan. She seemed to be expressing deep concern about something, which I assumed had to do with a challenge she was facing. Meg listened to this new friend of ours with compassion, for the majority of the time that we were standing…

Glimpses of “normal”

A few weeks ago the four of us, Erinn, Meg, Olivia and I, went on a day-long staff retreat. It was our first such retreat since before COVID, and it was fantastic. Some hospitable friends of The Dale have a farm near Uxbridge, and graciously allowed us the run of the place. We spent most…

Falling Back into Routine

I’ve always liked autumn; sweater weather, cozy blankets on the balcony, and settling back into a routine after the fun but somewhat chaotic nature of summer. This year, of course, it feels strange to be settling back into another COVID season. Last fall was full of so much uncertainty, as we assumed case numbers would…