There’s beauty in being a witness — “There’s someone over there,” Dad said from bed in his weak, raspy voice. We were alone in the room, but my eyes went to where he was pointing. “Yes,” I said, “but he can’t hurt you while I’m here.” “O-kay,” he replied, dubious but not wanting to disagree outright. His…

Did someone send me a not-so-subtle message? — I’m a stickler for being respectful, especially to service staff. But I may have been more quiet than usual. I’d just come from a not-great encounter and my expression must have reflected that. My waitress kept asking if I liked my food in a concerned tone. I smiled and said…

Embracing change comes from within — “I think I want to change my major,” my friend’s child, in her first year at university, tells her. I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m at the point where my friends’ kids are going off to college. Some of them are struggling with the transition, which is understandable…

Meet Connections, your next fixation — I’m writing this at 5:30 a.m. Why? Because my latest obsession woke me up an hour ago. In January 2022, I was one of the millions instantly smitten with Wordle, the word clue game. At the time it was the perfect level of complexity-accessible enough to solve, but challenging enough…

To put it mildly, you can’t go back again — I left my hometown in the dust as soon as possible after high school graduation. Ottawa has a lot of hard memories for me, so I don’t return often. It’s not the city’s fault. It’s actually a pretty town with an interesting history, known for being family-oriented. Over the years…

Why is enjoying something popular problematic? — Color is very important to me so I surround myself with it, my home, my clothes, my art. Blue, especially mixed with a touch of green, has always been my favorite. I can just feel the dopamine spike when I see it. Long before the word “basic” became a pejorative…

Sure, they’re ridiculous. Here’s why they’re necessary — It was the early 2000s and I was in a video store, stocking up for movie night. I don’t remember the movie I chose, but I’m pretty sure it featured a souped-up alligator tangling with a grizzly bear. The employee at the counter scanned my selection, looking perplexed. …

Turning frustration into resolution — There was a time in my life when my two best friends shared a common characteristic: chronic lateness. Even though they’ve never met, it’s like their lateness was in sync. For a while, both of them would reliably be ten to fifteen minutes late for any get-together. They would apologize…

Questioning my sanity at 10,000 feet — When a friend asked if anyone wanted to join her for an afternoon of skydiving, I said I might. As an abstract concept, skydiving is a pretty easy yes. What’s not to love about seeing yourself as a daredevil? It was only a week later when I needed to commit…