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As many of you will know, much of Ontario just experienced a deeply cold snap. Temperatures in Toronto dropped last Thursday night to around minus 30, and stayed very cold until Saturday night. While this kind of weather is uncomfortable for everyone, it can be deadly for others. On that Thursday morning, a relatively new…

Dreaming and grieving

I never used to remember my dreams. In the last few years, though, they have been more vivid, and more of them have stuck with me after I awake. Sometimes these dreams are a bizarre mash-up of things that I’m thinking about, and I don’t read too much into them. Others are about things that…

John

This week has been a tough one. Just days after having Nicole’s death confirmed, we learned that our friend John had also died. John was a genuine kind of guy. A couple of years ago he was quite a constant presence at The Dale. He was going through a very difficult time, and would come…

Nicole

Nicole was special. The first time I met her was at our Wednesday morning art and breakfast drop in a few years ago. She sat in the corner, quietly creating beautiful pen and marker drawings. She would eat breakfast, continue drawing, and then slip out. It took a number of weeks before we had a…

In the end, in the end, in the end

Things continue to be pretty heavy at The Dale. Two dear friends are still in hospital, and may not come out. Another community member who it seemed was just beginning to trust us, and was only a year older than me, passed away last week. As a community, and as individuals, we are sad, and…

Hope in the heaviness

If you read Erinn’s blog, you’ll know that this has been a heavy week, and it feels like it might get heavier. Last Wednesday there were two memorials in a row for folks from the Sanctuary community (one of whom also came to The Dale), followed by the death of another Sanctuary member a few…

Choosing hope

Today was tough. There were lots of things about our Monday meal drop in that were totally lovely- fun jamming sessions, an unforeseen and generous donation of clothing, lots of coffee and muffins, good chats, warm hugs, delicious potatoes, veggies, chicken and fruit salad, cohesive teamwork (and a couple of dance parties) in the kitchen,…

A beloved one of the gang

The other week I was at a Coffee House at Sanctuary, and Dan (the emcee and one of the original members of Sanctuary) was introducing Greg Paul (the founder and pastor of Sanctuary). He said something like, “and now introducing our beloved… well… our beloved… one of the gang!” My friend Anne, who is married…

Another brutiful year

It’s a new year. Christmas has come and gone again. A friend from my Sanctuary community, Maggie Paul, shared a new word with me just before Christmas that I found/find incredibly helpful when thinking about Christmas, the new year, and life in general: brutiful. This word is originally from a blog called Momastery [http://momastery.com/blog/2010/10/04/brutiful-2/] The…

Thomas and Meredith

Today marks 15 years since my cousins, Thomas (11) and Meredith (8), died in a car accident. They and their parents were on their way to my family’s home for an early Christmas dinner. Every December 11th since then I marvel that another year has gone by, and often wonder what they would be up…