The warmth of a touch
The love it communicates
The care it shows
The gentleness it conveys
The attachment it demonstrates
The warmth of a touch
Consoling
Energizing
Life giving
Irreplaceable
The warmth of a touch
So much tenderness
So much ardour
So healing
So blissful
The warmth of a touch
Magical
Otherworldly
December 27th, 2021
I’m at one of my favourite places, the coffee shop
Where I read and write and have time to myself
The place where I recharge my batteries
Things are not the same as before
We still wear masks
We still sanitize
And now we show our covid passports
But we can have coffee with friends now
The conversation is lively at the tables next to me
Whereas a few months ago I may be one of the two people staying for coffee
Everyone seemed to take coffee to go
I don’t come to the coffee shop as often as before though
Albert has been working from home, and we have our morning coffee together
I try to write at home
But there are always distractions
The coffee shop allows me to focus
And stay in my own world as long as I need
No one interrupts me
The door bell does not ring
No one asks me questions and derail the train of my thought
I need this solitude to write
I’m grateful for another visit to the coffee shop
November 3rd, 2021
Fall is here
the carefree days of wearing sandals and dresses are gone
The scarves can come out
The verdure of the trees a waining
The magical colors of fall arrive
We will be indoors more
But we should not close our hearts
To kindness
To gentleness
To generosity
To love
Each season has its own beauty and prepares us for the one to come
Seasons change
Life goes on
And life is beautiful
If we try to bring some sunshine into someone else’s life
September 30th, 2021
Stay two meters away from each other
Don’t visit people at their homes in big numbers
Don’t fill up the coffee shops
Only so many people allowed
Sounds anti-social, doesn’t it?
But it’s our reality now and we can’t let our guard down yet
The variants are rampant
Areas that are doing well suddenly flare up
Where you can fly to and not fly to keeps changing
Some countries, you can visit only in groups
The sanitizer bottle is omnipresent
Masks still adorn our faces
How much longer?
That’s a good question
It depends a little on how much
Responsibility we will take in combating this disease
Some people still deny its existence
They refuse to wear masks and socially distance
Vaccines are out of the question for them
And on the other hand
There are countries that are having a challenge
Vaccinating a population that wants to be vaccinated
It’s a messy and dangerous situation
The hospitals are filled to capacity
The medical staff work long hours and are tired
So politicians try to give people incentives to get vaccinated
Money, lotteries, gifts, whatever they can think of
It’s a strange, strange world we live in
One we could not have imagined two years ago
September 6th, 2021
We’ve had an unusual year and a half
All the distancing
All the worrying
All the isolation
All the confusion
All the triumphs and failures
All of us pulling together most times
But some being more lucky in their access to what they need
Our world is not operating as a whole yet
We are still segmented into countries and tribes
Otherwise we would probably be in a different place now
Will we learn our lesson?
I’m not sure
Our nationalism has a strong hold on us
In a world that operates as a whole
We insist on only looking out only for ourselves
There is mistrust
There is lack of compassion
There is lack of unity
What is for sure it that now to solve our problems
We need to work together
Today’s world works as a unit
And the sooner we figure that out the better
September 1st, 2021
Beyond the wall of windows in my mother’s apartment
Is a kaleidoscope of colour, natural beauty and activity
The green of the grass
The blue of the ocean
And the white of the sailboats on the water
The grey of the high rises
And the red bricks of the walking path
People exercising
People walking their dogs
People going to work
People driving by
It’s a beehive of activity
And Vancouver’s beauty shines
In the sunshine of the morning
Everything seems to sparkle
But not everyone is happy in this city by the ocean
The sight of the homeless and drug addicted
On Main Street breaks my heart
A man whose clothes hang loose on his thin limbs
Talks to another person, a desperate look on his face
A tent is set up on the side walk
Creating a temporary place for respite
A man crosses the street on a red pedestrian light
Pushing a shopping cart containing all his belongings
One can’t look at the lights to drive across intersections
Some people with blank stares cross at any time
Oblivious of what’s going on around them
The ugliness of poverty and despondency
Coexists with the beauty of nature and the opulence
Of the high rises tastefully designed
I try to focus on the beauty
But not forget that many people
Are in need in this city of contradictions
August 24th, 2021
My responsibly as a mother is the eduction of my children
I’ve been doing that for years now
In a way that is familiar to me
With them close by
But as they get older
Their education will come from places outside the home
And I need to let go
They will be around less often
But they are on their path of learning and experiencing new things
I won’t be involved in their day to day life
But I will be there to support and encourage them
Their mode of development has changed
They need the input of the society at large
And by letting go
I’m allowing them to continue to grow
August 9th, 2021
The egg chair!
What, you ask?
Well it’s a chair
In the shape of an egg
And it’s suspended from above
You sit in it…
So far it’s like any other chair
But you can twirl in the egg chair
Rock back and forth
Go side to side
Or all the way around
It’s like you are floating on water
Moving up and down with the waves
When you sit in the egg chair
You can relax more
You can daydream
You feel uplifted and light
The egg chair is what Albert wanted this summer
But as far as I was concerned
I thought it was a bit over the top
Did we really need an egg chair?
We’ve done just fine without it till now
After all it’s so big
Takes up so much space
Will it fit with the rest of the patio furniture?
I had all kinds of reasons why it was an extra expense
But when I sit in it now
And swing and rock back and forth
The feeling is priceless
And I think Albert has good taste
July 23rd, 2021
These seem like the last few months of Covid if all goes well
Vaccinations are underway
Places are opening up
We can get together in our back yards
But things can change
The variants can cause some problems
We are not quite out of the woods yet
Nevertheless we see the light at the end of the tunnel
At the same time, we are so used to doing things differently
That it will take time to move forward
This has been an interesting time
Working from home is a reality now
Zoom meetings are here to stay
So much time and money will be saved
So much better for the environment
We will still go places
Being in the presence of others still has its reasons
But much more will be done online
We’ll be leaving these times behind
Realizing that our welfare depends on the welfare of others
That we should consider the needs of our neighbours
That the world is shrinking in size and the countries need to cooperate
The more privileged ones need to come to the aid of the less privileged
Our world is one
We can’t think of ourselves in isolation any longer
June 16th 2021
I come home with what I think are
Electric toothbrush heads
Only to discover the box contains a toothbrush as well
And I don’t need one
How did I make that mistake?
All I can tell you is that it’s not an isolated case
I’ve come home with a caramel chocolate slab
Instead of milk chocolate one
Chosen strawberry milk instead of chocolate milk
And the list goes on
Natasha asks me if I can read
Silly question of course but I get her point
Is it carelessness?
Perhaps
The pictures on the packages and their location don’t help either
I just hope I’m not the only person who makes these mistakes
June 4th, 2021
lida's musings 