At the hospital cafeteria 

Here, each person has a story

Someone is about to have an operation

Her surgeon is drinking a large coffee to be ready 

Someone has just been diagnosed with cancer

The shock has not settled yet

Her cup of coffee and pastry don’t bring her joy

Someone is visiting the gynaecology ward

First baby, so exciting, so much unknown

There are hospital workers in their uniforms having an early lunch 

Is it difficult to be around sick people all the time?

Or maybe their point of view is

They can help someone who is not feeling well

The lady at the coffeeshop is always upbeat

Moving fast to get through the orders

A couple of people are on wheelchairs 

It must be so difficult to not have the ability to walk

I see a lady wearing a headscarf 

And a man wearing a kippah 

I saw the prayer room yesterday and it was lovely 

I hear French, English and other languages

This is the microcosm of our society

February 12, 2025

Who says our body has to be in perfect health

To enjoy life and live a life of service?

Bodily health is important

But, a decrease in health as we age is normal

Does that mean I can’t do my belly laugh?

Does that mean I can’t enjoy the beauty of art?

Does that mean I can’t be of service to others?

I can do all of that because my spirit is still healthy

And going strong

It’s my attitude that’s important

My optimism

My gratitude

My enthusiasm

All qualities of my spirit

And if my body’s health is less that’s perfect

So be it!

Feb. 21st, 2025

It’s cold and cloudy Saturday morning

And I’m at the mall doing Lida things

Which happens to be nothing today

Got my coffee beside me

All the tables were taken

And my notebook on my lap

Yes, I still write in notebooks from time to time

I’m reflecting on life

No matter what serious situation you are in

Someone else is dealing with worse

We don’t walk with our problems stuck on our backs

So nobody knows

I see a small child in a stroller 

The childhood of our children is done

They are now adults, living their own lives

Sometime in the future grandchildren will come

That will be the beginning of a new era

Wow, that is a huge bun on top of that girl’s head

Standing in the coffee line

It looks like a nest sitting on her head

Must be heavy, I think to myself

And these are things we do for beauty

And I’m guilty of that too

Thank you for sharing my doing nothing time with me 

I find it very therapeutic

23 Nov 2024

Why can’t comfortable shoes be pretty?

Why can’t pretty shoes be comfortable?

I’ve searched high and low 

And all I find 

Is pretty high heel shoes

And plain looking flat comfortable shoes 

Why can’t we have both beauty and comfort?

Why should our feet suffer for the sake of beauty?

Why should our toes get squished 

In pointy toed shoes?

Why, why, why?

And I admit this is a first world problem 

November 16, 2024

Sometimes all I want to do is nothing at all

Productivity can be so overrated

My bills will be there tomorrow

My garden can be prepared for winter later too

And the dishes can find their way into the dishwasher somehow 

For now I will do what I want

Make a video reciting my poems

Upload them on various platforms

Make sure the front picture looks good

Check how many people have seen it

Self-absorbed, I know

Surf YouTube 

Listen to Stray-kids

Sit some more

Day dream a little

Think of this poem

Write it in my IPad

These are the things I do

When I do nothing at all

Nov 9th, 2024

How do you explain the connection of hearts, the love you feel?

Is it by the tears you shed at the timear of departure?

Tears that sometimes refuse to stop

Where is all this water coming from?   

We have all kinds of love

Immature love wants to keep the object of the love close by

Mature love allows the loved one to go and explore the world 

And come back richer for those experiences 

I’m at my regular refuge  

The place that brings me calm 

What makes the coffeeshop such a relaxing place for me? 

People, music, coffee, writing, drawing

Or all of the above? 

Things we feel are hard to describe, quantify or explain

Feelings belong to another realm

They come with us when we leave this world 

Nov 5, 2024

Nick and Magalie Leave for Korea and Japan

So much emotion

Up and done

Worried and resigned 

Impatient and tired 

So much waiting 

For the doctors

For the ultrasound 

Over an hour for the ultrasound 

Waiting is the hardest thing for me

Especially when I don’t know how long

Especially when I am tired and anxious

Especially when the results can have such a big impact

But all is well that ends well

The ultrasound was clear

The blood test results were good 

And for now, there is no sign of cancer 

And it will most likely remain the same 

Because of the medication I’m taking 

All in all good news

A sense of relief

But the fatigue stays 

Until I have a good night’s sleep 

June 18, 2024

As I sit down with my coffee

I review the items on my to do list in my head

To see what I have done and what’s left

-organize basement (a multi-day activity)

-water flowers

-go to the pharmacy

-buy batteries for the bathroom scale

-Make an agenda for an upcoming meeting

-grocery shopping

-preparing dinner

…..

But sometimes the to do list 

Needs to be modified 

And ‘me time’ added to the top

Time do do what makes me happy 

Time to replenish my energy

Time to be creative 

And I chose to do that right now

There are many things I must do 

Some urgent, some less so

But now I chose to take care of myself

So I will be refreshed 

And able to do what must be done

August 14, 2024

I’m good at doing things that don’t make money

Volunteering is my thing

In the kids’ schools when they were little 

In Holland the year after we got married

The Baha’i community got most of my attention

From organizing children’s classes

To being the editor of the Montreal newsletter

To organizing an English corner for new Chinese immigrants

To coordinating the volunteers for the Shrine in Montreal 

My books are something else I do out of love 

It’s certainly not to make money 

But when my writing touches someone’s soul

It’s better than all the money in the world 

Raising my kids was unpaid labour too 

One I am very happy to have devoted my time to

Perhaps what is important is the result of our labours 

And how they help others 

Rather than what we earn 

Volunteering is its own reward 

August 28, 2024